Dark Flames
by Zapto369
Summary: The quest of Zapto and his friends as they go on a quest to save the universe from the forces of evil. Also completly horrible and really just practice in terms of writing. Please if you value your time, don't read this.
1. Prologue

Prologue- The Palace of the Sclertz

The sun was setting on the swamp moon of Drenthax Four as a black, yellow, and sleek starship landed outside the palace of the moon's ruler, Glertalscletz. The master of the ship walked out alone onto the entrance courtyard. He was but a teenager, but already showed remarkable maturity and power. His black and dark yellow cape moved in the wind as he walked up to the front door. The palace was huge and had many towers and spires scattered among it. The front door itself was very large and required a good amount of strength to open. He knocked three times as signal to the Palace Ruler that an important visitor was at the gate. The door slowly opened as a human slave boy struggled to push it. The visitor stepped inside and walked down the Grand Hallway, a simple, but ornate hallway that led to the interior of the palace. He stood waiting at the stairs as the Ruler hovered down.

The Ruler was as sickening as his planet. He was a big blob of green slime that was so corpulent, that he needed a hovering platform to move. Glertalscletz, as he was called, hovered up to the visitor and said to him, "Why have you come here? What business do you have?" The visitor replied to him, "I come offering a deal." "Then let us go to my chambers to talk." Glertalscletz escorted him to the top of the palace and they entered his chamber. The hallway up was simply a winding flight of stairs. The walls were green and had strange paintings lining the way up. When the two acquaintances got the to the Ruler's room, they stepped inside and the visitor looked around. The room was simple, but it was obvious that someone in authority lived there. "What is this deal you speak of?" the Sclertz, or ruler in his language, asked the visitor. "The deal? For you, there is no deal." He said this as he let loose a stream of electrical energy from his hand. The hovering platform stopped and Glertalscletz fell to the ground, stunned and unconscious by the attack.

"It is safe now!" The boy shouted. Just then, a door on the opposite side of the room opened and out stepped a beautiful, teenage girl. She had flowing black hair and piercing magenta eyes. "Then let us go. Since you have come, it can only mean that time is running out." She said. "I am afraid so." The boy replied. "Then let us go, there is not a moment to lose." "As you wish, Blackfire." The two left the palace and flew off in the boy's ship. "Next stop, Earth."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1- The Reunion

It was a beautiful Saturday mid-afternoon in the park and Robin, Starfire, and Jeeves were outside to enjoy the day. Robin was as cool looking as usual with his black cape and mysterious mask. Starfire, Robin's female companion, was basking in the sunlight, overjoyed with the beautiful weather. Her bright green eyes and red hair sparkled a bit more than usual on this fine day. Jeeves, the couple's butler, was an older man with minimal gray hair and was always dressed for business.

"Is it not a glorious day for a picnic?!" Starfire exclaimed. "It sure is," Replied Robin. But that fun day was about to be cut short as an explosion was heard not too far away. The three of them rushed over to the scene of the noise. A tree was knocked over and a hole was burned into the ground, but the damage was minimal. "I wonder what caused it." Jeeves asked. Suddenly a voice called out, "I did!" Everyone gasped as a beautiful, and yet somehow dark girl, landed in the clearing. Starfire instantly went into battle pose. "Why are you here? You were banished from both Tamaran and Earth." She demanded. "Relax, sister dear. I'm not here to fight you. I merely need some help with a few things." Blackfire said. "Need help with what? Getting thrown out of this galaxy?" Robin said. "And how were you freed from Glertalscletz?"

A voice called out, "I freed her from that thing's slimy grasp." "Who said that?" Robin asked. "I did." And a powerful teenage boy stepped out from behind a tree. His black and dark yellow cape flowed in the wind, he said, "I am Zapto, the master of lightning! I freed Blackfire from her slimy prison because, well, I'll let her explain." Blackfire continued to say, "You see, sister dear, during my tragically short time as Grand Ruler of Tamaran, Zapto was my, shall we say, most trusted adviser. It wasn't long before we became a couple. We also had one little predicament, which I will not reveal to you until you agree to help us. Anyway, when you banished me and sent me to that dump of a planet, I did some hard thinking. Zapto had changed me in some respects and our partnership remained strong. I told him to break me out when I was, ah, needed. The time came and here we are." "The time for what?" asked Jeeves. "Well, that's exactly what we need help with. So are you gonna help us or not?" Zapto replied. "We need a moment." Robin replied. They huddled together and decided that the pair was not to be trusted, though Jeeves was still quite confused on the matter. But they were not so unjust as to not give them a chance. "Meet us at the Arena at 8:00 tonight." Robin said to the two. "If you can defeat me and Starfire then, we'll hear your request." "If you are not there, we will call Tamaran and inform them that you are in the area. The both of you." Starfire added. "It's a date then." Zapto replied. "Come on Blackfire, we have a few hours till then." The place and time was set. The rest was in their hands.

After the afternoon's festivity was cut short, Robin, Starfire, and Jeeves decided to return to their illustrious home. After years of fighting the crimes of the world, Robin and Starfire decided to retire from the hero's life and retire to a mansion near the forest at the edge of town. Despite the fact that they were both only late teenagers themselves, they had a lot of money and hired a butler to keep them company. "I do say Master Robin," Jeeves began, "That I do not understand what has happened today." "I guess it's time to explain this then." Robin replied. The three of them then walked into the study and took their places on the sofa and chairs. "You see, Jeeves, Starfire's father was the king of a far-off planet called Tamaran. His wife and Starfire's mother died when she was very young. She died while leaving only two heirs to the throne, two girls." "I was one of them, the younger." Starfire explained. "My sister, Blackfire, was older than I and as such, next in, line for the throne. But she always had a wild personality and stole a priceless gem from another planet. Luckily, Robin and I were there to set her straight, but sent her to prison for quite a few years. However, she managed to escape and return to Tamaran secretly. Once there, she managed to gather a few followers and waited for just the right time. My father was getting old, and eventually, he passed away.

When he did, Blackfire saw her opportunity. She made an earlier alliance with an alien ruler named Glertalscletz. He had many war ships. Using those ships, she marched on the palace of the rulers and claimed her throne. There was no law against it because she was the rightful heir, but none of the people liked it. Not soon after this, I got a message from my home planet. It was a plea for help from none other than the man who took care of me after my mother died and my father was to busy. His name is Galforg. So I went with my team and overthrew my sister. Because I was second in line to the throne, I rightfully took charge of the planet. But I did not want to leave Earth and all my friends behind. And so I passed on the throne to my caretaker, Galforg. He still rules the planet now." Starfire paused and Jeeves asked a question. "And what happened to your sister?" "I am a merciful person and try always to do the right thing. I banished her from the planet and sent her to go live with Glertalscletz on his far-off swamp planet. Apparently, this Zapto person rescued her from the planet and now they've come for something." "So do you know what it could be?" "I don't know. I guess we'll find out tonight…"


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- A Battle of Galactic Proportions

The Arena was a fun place on the edge of town. It was a stadium where professional sports teams played. But the unique thing about it was that the roof was flat and could serve as an interesting fighting arena. In fact, there were lights set up on top and it looked remarkably like a starship platform.

It was 7:57 as Robin and Starfire arrived at the Arena. A few minutes later, Blackfire and Zapto arrived, right on schedule. "Are you ready for the fight of your life?" Zapto asked. "I was born ready." Robin replied. "To make it even, we'll fight two against two. Blackfire and Zapto against Starfire and I. This is to be a fair battle, alright?" "Me unfair? Whatever, let's just get started." Blackfire replied. "Begin!" And the fight began! Starfire and Blackfire automatically took to the skies and barraged each other with starbolts, charges of energy that all Tamarians could throw from the palms of their hands. Zapto and Robin, both unable to fly, remained on the ground. "Not as powerful this time, but nonetheless, here it is: the Surrogate Lightning Sword!" Zapto said as he gathered energy in his hand. He molded the energy into a sword and pointed it at Robin. "En Garde!" Robin pulled out his metal pole and the two powerhouses clashed weapons. Meanwhile in the sky, the two sisters gave it their all in every blast of energy they threw.

The battle raged for all but an hour when suddenly, a loud noise filled the sky. "What is that?" Blackfire asked. "It can't be…" Starfire muttered. But it was. A huge starship suddenly came down from the sky. "Blackfire of Tamaran! You have dared to return to this sector despite your banishment! We are landing now. Do not try to resist." Blackfire muttered a curse and the fighting ceased. The ship landed and out stepped the Grand Ruler of Tamaran, Emperor Galforg with his royal guards. Galforg was a huge man and very intimidating to everyone. His alien strength was only added to by the layers of rippling muscle that covered his body. And a scar across his left eye stood for years of fighting and, of course, winning.

"Blackfire, I am surprised to see you in this region. You have committed not one, but two extreme crimes against us. By royal decree, the third punishment is the most severe." He said. "Third punishment? There never used to be any kind of severe punishment. What is it?" Starfire asked. Everyone looked anxious as he announced the third and final punishment. "Death" "What?! No! You can't to that to her!" Zapto yelled at Galforg. "I won't let you!" And he charged a blast and ran at Galforg, but a guard shocked him with an electrical pole and Zapto collapsed. "Why is this punishment so severe? Galforg, what is the matter with you?! Why are you being so cruel?" Starfire, who was on the brink of tears, asked him. "Because I said so!" Galforg yelled. "Now take her and let us go!"

Blackfire stood there stunned. She did not say a word as the guards snatched her up and led her into the ship. But the sad look in her eyes said it all. "No!! Let her go!" Zapto yelled and shot a blast at Galforg. But a guard intercepted it and sent it harmlessly flying off. "Do not interfere. Let this be a lesson to you." The Grand Ruler said as he drew a huge blaster from inside his royal coat. He raised it and shot a huge red beam at Zapto. It overwhelmed him and sent him flying off the Arena. "Zapto, No! Stop…" But Blackfire's words were cut off and the guards dragged her into the ship. "The execution will be in exactly three days in which the normal judgment process will be in effect." Glaforg said as he boarded his ship and the ship took off. Robin and Starfire looked stunned and did not know what to do. Starfire was stunned most of all at Galforg's cruelty because he had raised her from the time she was just a little child. She did not understand his new heart of darkness.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Planning for the Future

"Hunh? Where am I? Where's Blackfire?" Zapto asked as he woke up from being blasted from Galforg's super ray gun. He was laying on a couch in the study of Robin's mansion. "You're in our home, Zapto." Robin told him. "Oh yea. The mansion… Blackfire! Did you get her back?" Zapto asked. Robin, Starfire, and Jeeves all had sad looks on. "Well, uh, we tried, but we couldn't do it." Jeeves sadly told him. "What?! You mean to say that she's still being held captive in Tamaran scheduled to die! We must do something!!" Zapto yelled. "And that's what Starfire and I were working on while you were out. It's still the middle of the night, so we came up with a plan that just might work." Robin said.

"Well let's hear it." Zapto replied. "The justice system on Tamaran for major crimes consists of a three day trial." Starfire explained. "The first day and night is an appeal to a regular court. The second day and night is an appeal to the people of Tamaran's capital. The third and final day and night is an appeal to the Head Judge of Tamaran. He makes the final decision. If the criminal is found guilty by two of the three groups including the Head Judge, the criminal is sentenced to a punishment decreed by the Grand Ruler." Starfire finished and Robin took over. "If you masquerade as Blackfire's attorney, we may be able to persuade the people and court to free Blackfire." "What about you guys?" "Starfire and I will be there, but in secret. We'll hide out in the spectator's booth and be there for moral support. Jeeves will stay here and take care of the house." "Sounds like a good plan to me! Well, what are we waiting for, let's go!" Zapto exclaimed. "I say, good luck, Master Robin and Mistress Starfire! And good luck to you too Master Zapto!" And so they got into Zapto's ship and together, they headed out to Tamaran.

Meanwhile…

"Get in there!" One of the guards yelled as he shoved Blackfire into her cell in the capital's prison for criminals on trial for major crimes. "Why are you doing this to me?" Blackfire asked Galforg. "It is the new law decreed by me. Everything I say goes! You caused us quite a few problems in the past and I am not a forgiving person." Galforg replied. "You used to be…" Blackfire muttered under her breath. "That was then. Have a nice stay." And so Galforg and his guards left Blackfire in the cold dark cell until the dawn of the next morning.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Dawn of the First Day

The sun was rising on Tamaran as Blackfire was led into the courthouse. The courthouse was just the same as any modern-day courthouse, strangely enough without any new, foreign technology. Seated at the judge's platform was a man of average height, but with balding hair. The jury was all Tamaranians except for a few unknown humans. The spectators were a variety of humans, Tamaranians, and others. Seated at the desk of the prosecution was Galforg himself and a royal guard. As two guards led Blackfire to the defense's desk, a cloaked man stepped forward and said, "Unhand her. I am her attorney. I will take it from here." The guards complied and Galforg whispered to his guard, "That voice seems familiar. Where have I heard it?" The guard just shrugged.

"Court is now in session!" The short judge said. "Please present the charges." Galforg rose from his seat and began to talk. "Blackfire of Tamaran has committed three high crimes against her people and has broken a banishment code. The decreed penalty is death." "And what does the defense have to say?" The cloaked man rose out of his chair and began to speak. "And just what constitutes a high crime? Is stealing a precious gem a high crime? Yes, I suppose it is. Is a hostile takeover of the planet and bluffing an invasion a high crime? I'd say so. But what is the third high crime? Is breaking a banishment code a high crime? If it is, bring forth some evidence. Present the banishment code!"

The room looked at Galforg. He merely smiled and said, "As a matter of fact, here it is." As he said this, he pulled a parchment out of his enormous pocket. "As you can see, by decreed by our former Grand Ruler, Starfire, Blackfire is banished from Tamaran and surrounding planets." "But Starfire is no longer the Grand Ruler now is she? Did our current Grand Ruler renew the banishment? Hmm, well did he?" The room once again looked at Galforg. This time, he looked a bit nervous. "But do I need to? Where on the document does it say so?" The room looked back the cloaked man. "It doesn't say so on the document, but rather in the Tamaranian Constitution. Article VIII Section IV Subsection II." The room looked back at Galforg.

He was fighting a losing battle and he knew it. But nevertheless, he said, "Prove it." "Judge, present a copy of the Constitution if you will." "Yes, right away. Here you are Master Galforg." The judge handed the book to Galforg. "Have a look for yourself." The cloaked man taunted. As Galforg looked through, he fell upon a certain page and the color drained from his face. "By the look on your face, I'd say I'm right. Judge?" Now it was the judge's time to talk. "I know the Constitution inside and out, and I know that you are correct. What I am amazed at is how you know. But I guess there are good lawyers out there. Anyway, I shall now let the Jury vote. All who say guilty, 1, 2, 5! All who say not guilty, 1, 4, 6! It's decided then, Blackfire is deemed not guilty by the first level!" The spectators applauded. As Blackfire was escorted out of the room, she said to the cloaked man, "Thank you." The man was about to reply when Galforg yelled at him from behind, "You'll pay for this, man! Mark my words you'll pay." And then he exited the room. The cloaked man also left from the opposite exit.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- Dawn of the Second Day

"Only two days left." A strange cloaked man said to himself and he walked out of his door and mentally made himself ready for the trial of the second day. By Tamaranian law, the people of Tamaran's capital would partially decide the fate of Blackfire. And so it was at the capital building of Tamaram's capital city: Starblaze City. The appeal would take place in front of the Royal palace, a large ornate castle with many towers and peaks. All of the city's people were amassed outside of the building's large doors. High above the crowd, there was a balcony from which royal trumpets blew.

As the blare ended, Emperor Galforg stepped out onto the balcony and prepared to speak. "People of Starblaze City, it is today that the second day of the trial of Blackfire will commence. The defense will say a few words and then I shall speak. At the end of our speeches, you will all vote. Now, defense, speak!" Galforg said as the cloaked man and Blackfire walked out onto the balcony. "People of Tamaran! Most of you remember Blackfire as the cruel ruler who ascended to the throne and made life difficult for many of you. Few can forget the massive army that the Sclertz brought to this planet. I am here to tell you that the army was just a bluff. Few know the true story of what really happened. The army was really run by machines. Glertalscletz was here to exchange a priceless gemstone of enormous power for Blackfire's sister, Starfire. You know the rest; Starfire challenged her sister for the crown and won. Starfire then gave it up to her childhood caretaker Galforg, which brings us to the present. I do not deny the things that Blackfire has done as being wrong, but death is a high price. Has Galforg been a decent ruler? If he turned bad, would sentence him to death? Would you forefathers approve of what you intend to do? I'll say one last thing now: Blackfire has changed. The question is, will you give her a second chance? Thank you."

And the man ended his speech and stepped back to give Galforg his chance to speak. "That was a beautiful speech." Blackfire whispered to the cloaked man. Before the man could reply, Galforg began talking in his booming voice, "Who is this man to talk of what our forefathers would or wouldn't do? I doubt he is Tamaranian himself! If he is, then why does he wear that cloak? But that is not important now. What is, is how do we know what he says is true? Did any of you go aboard one of the warships? I didn't. What proof does he have that the invasion was false or that Blackfire has changed? Perhaps he is but evil himself sent to overthrow our planet and society. Remember that when you vote. Remember that!"

And then he stood silent and stared into the crowd for a few seconds and then called out, "Now what is your decision?!" The people shouted like a roll of thunder and bolt of lightning. They shouted, "Guilty!" Galforg smiled and said, "So be it! Blackfire is deemed guilty by the people of Starblaze City! It will all be decided tomorrow before the Grand Judge. Tomorrow boy, get ready." And with that said and done, the entire party left the balcony and returned to their respective rooms for the remainder of the afternoon.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6- Night of the Second Day

All was quiet in the courtyard in front of Blackfire's prison in Starblaze City. The moon was high and there was but one guard on duty that stood in front of the section of the prison in which Blackfire's cell was located. Suddenly, that guard fell to the ground and a near invisible figure in the night crept into a small hole in the jail. The opening led to a hallway which broke off two ways. The figure, now slightly more visible in the light of the torches that lined the dark hallway, made a right turn down the hallway toward an area where light was scarce and the moon let in the little bit of light still there. At the end of such a hallway lay a teenage girl depressed by recent events. She looked out the barred window and stared at the moon wondering what the future holds and if he's alive. Then she heard the near silent footsteps of the approaching stranger.

"Who are you?" Blackfire asked the cloaked man. "You know me." The man said. As he said this Blackfire looked puzzled and the man produced a small key out of his cloak. He unlocked the cell and stepped inside. "I need to thank you from the bottom of my heart. If it weren't for you, I might not be alive." Blackfire told the man. "The same applies for me. Without you, life wouldn't be the same." And as he said this, he pulled back the cloak that concealed his face for the last two days. "Zapto!" Blackfire exclaimed as she flung herself into his arms. "I thought you were dead. After Galforg blasted you, I thought… oh Zapto!" She was beginning to cry sweet tears of joy. "The blast was not meant to kill me, only knock me out for a few hours. And it did. Then I had to come to help you here on Tamaran. Don't worry, it will all be fine. After tomorrow…" After Zapto said these words, they were silent for a few minutes and Blackfire stood crying in his arms for a while. Then she regained her composure and said, "Galforg has changed. He wasn't always like this. I don't know what happened to him… He's nothing short of pure evil now." "I know. I'm a bit worried about tomorrow, but all should be fine."

And then a new voice filled the corridor. "Indeed you should be worried." The voice said and Galforg himself walked out of the darkness and stood alone in front of the cell. "I should congratulate you for getting into this prison and even finding a key, but your victory will be short lived." He said. "You! What grudge do you hold against me?! What right do you have to treat me like this?" Blackfire screamed at him. "I have every right. I am the king! I may do as I please! And as for you," He looked at Zapto as he said this, "You will pay for interfering with my plans. Let this be a lesson to you!" Galforg said as he threw his mighty fist straight at Zapto's head. But his hand stopped in midair and an eerie blue glow surrounded it.

"Now, now Galforg. Should not we save fighting for tomorrows' debate?" A new cultured voice said and a new man entered the corridor. He had the tanned skin of a Middle Easterner, but with a minute hint of blue in it. His robes were very regal looking and he looked more of royalty than Glaforg himself. "Now Galforg, be gone. We will settle this tomorrow. I will ensure that these two are in their proper places." The man said. Galforg mumbled a few things under his breath and then walked away giving an evil eye toward Zapto. "I am sorry for Galforg's short temper and aggressive nature. You must leave the cell now Zapto." And so Zapto exited to cell and stood in the corridor with the man. "Thank you sir. How did you stop Galforg's fist in midair?" Zapto asked the man. "I have learned the art of telekinesis. I am the Grand Judge of Tamaran, Thramn. May fortune be with you tomorrow. Farewell." And the man stepped into the shadows and disappeared. Zapto then turned to Blackfire and said, "I swear it, nothing will happen to you tomorrow. I will beat Galforg and then we can be free to live our life." "Zapto, I believe in you, but when we make it out of this… never mind. Goodnight." "Goodnight, Blackfire." And Zapto also walked out to get some sleep before the big trial tomorrow. As he lay in bed back in his room he whispered to himself, "We'll deal with that later." And then he fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7- Dawn of the Final Day

Again the sun was rising and Zapto arose from his room and headed to the lobby of the place where he was staying. This was to be his final day on Tamaran so he had no need to stay another night. As he turned in his room key and started out the door, two familiar friends approached him. "Good luck today, Zapto." Robin said to him. "Thanks man. I know most of this has been my fault, but can you stick with me for a few more hours? If I hadn't brought Blackfire to Earth… but I guess it was meant to be. After it's all over, I will explain everything." Zapto said to Robin. "I'll hold you to it. We'll be right there with you where ever the trial is held." "Thanks. Now let's do this!"

And Zapto, Robin, and Starfire headed over to the place where the trial was to be held: The Coliseum of Judgment. This was the stage where the Grand Judge always performed. When they arrived, Robin and Starfire hurried over to the spectator area. Zapto however, went to the center of the Coliseum. Waiting there was Blackfire on one side and Galforg on the other. In the middle was Thrawm himself. Zapto took his seat by Blackfire's side and Thrawm began the process of fate.

"This is the final day in the three day process that will decide whether Blackfire will live or die. We all know the charges and what the defense has said these last two days. The only spectators allowed in the Coliseum are close friends and family to both parties." Indeed it was true; the only spectators were Robin, Starfire, a few royal guards, and the balding judge from the first trial. "Zapto, what now do you have to say?" Zapto stood up and began to speak. "It is a primary human philosophy that all people do wrong. If every person were condemned after the first wrongdoing, all peoples would be damned. Everyone deserves a second chance. If a person said that he or she has changed, we gotta take their word for it. And I know Blackfire has changed."

"Galforg, do you have anything to say now?" Thrawm asked him. "We must eliminate all evil and all threats now before they can grow. You will declare Blackfire guilty." Galforg said as he stared right into Thrawm's eyes. "Your mind games do not work on me Galforg. I am trained not to be moved." Galforg looked slightly defeated and Thrawm again questioned Zapto, "Zapto, what would you give for Blackfire's freedom?" "For Blackfire, I would give my life." Zapto replied. The two stared at each other for a few seconds and then Thrawm spoke, "Then let it be so."

As he said this, the guards came rushing around Zapto with chains and shackles. "No!" Blackfire cried. But Thawm held true to Zapto's words. "If you would rather die than Blackfire, then let it be." Then he pointed to a path leading out of the Coliseum. At the end of the path, on a hill, was a most terrible device: a guillotine. "No! I won't let you!" Blackfire cried. "No Blackfire, I have chosen. Be good and carry on without me."

The guards took Zapto out to the hill and the people followed. They strapped Zapto to the guillotine and covered his head with a brown bag. One of the guards held the knife that would cut the rope and sent the blade crashing down. But before that terrible event, Galforg had one last thing to say. "Hahaha! I have won Zapto! Now die, you electric freak!" Zapto uttered one last phrase, "Goodbye Blackfire."


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8- A New Evil

"Stop!" Thrawm yelled and the knife that the guard dropped to release the guillotine stopped in midair, suspended by a blue force. Thrawm psychically tossed the knife harmlessly aside and continued, "Free him! Blackfire is innocent!" The guards immediately freed Zapto and as he rose to his feet Blackfire ran and embraced him. "Congratulations Zapto. You were willing to relinquish your life to save Blackfire's. That proves your faith in her change. By my decree, Blackfire will be freed and dropped of all charges. You however," He turned to Galforg as he said this. "Are not who you claim to be. I had my suspicions, but this proves it." "What do you mean?" Blackfire asked Thrawm.

"I'll tell you. Galforg is not Galforg. He is an imposter!" Thrawm responded. Galforg's expression suddenly changed. "Hahaha! You're just figuring out this now fools? No I'm not Galforg. Perhaps it's time for me reveal my true identity." And with that Galforg suddenly was covered in a sheet of darkness. Then a smallish mannequin dressed in a purple cloak and a red and yellow eye on the hood stepped out of that darkness and Galforg's soul. Galforg fell to the ground unconscious and the new figure spoke. "Hehehe, tell me Thrawm, how did you figure this out?" "On the trial of the second day, I sensed a dark presence paralyzing the minds of the people. That is why they responded when you stared at them so intently. And also, I have known Galforg ever since he was a small child. He would never be so cruel and heartless toward anyone."

"Very good, very good. Zapto, do you know who I am? You should. Tell me does my voice sound familiar?" Zapto searched his memory and then with a harsh realization, realized who this mysterious manipulator is. "You heartless tyrant! You think you can destroy my world and come back to finish me?!" Zapto yelled. "Hm, hm, yes I dare to. I daresay that your world will be the least of your problems after I'm done." The strange little man said. "What's that supposed to mean?" "You'll soon find out. You know what you must do, surely? Why don't you fill your little friends on me and my power? Ah never mind, I'll do the honors. I am Vaati, dark sorcerer and conquer of light worlds. I have destroyed many lands as your pal Zapto can testify to. Isn't that right, Zapto?" "You watch your tongue you snake…" "Come now, I thought we were friends, hehe. Anyway, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have much more important things to do. Try and stop me Zapto, if you dare. Ta ta." "Vaati wait!"

But he was gone. He disappeared as he had come, vanished beneath a cloak of darkness. "Urgh, what happened?" Zapto, Thramn, and Blackfire all looked at Galforg as he rose up. "Did something bad just happen?" Galforg asked as he got to his feet. "Yes Galforg, but we can explain that later. We all need our rest now. Everyone can go back to their rooms now and we'll talk later in the Grand Dining Hall at 7:00 tonight." Thramn said. They decided on that and all went off to their respective rooms. Blackfire stayed in Zapto's room for the day.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9- The Legend Explained

At the predetermined time, they all met in the Grand Dining Hall to discuss what had recently happened. Seated at the table was Zapto, Thrawm, Blackfire, Starfire, Robin, Galforg, and the short judge guy. At the feast that was prepared for them, Thrawm and Zapto filled Galforg in on what had happened to him. But there was still one unanswered. Actually, there were two unanswered questions. "So tell us Zapto, who is Vaati and why did he come to our planet?" Thramn asked Zapto. "The story of Vaati is a long one. I shall explain his story as well as mine."

And so Zapto began his tale. "A long time ago, there was a great king and a great queen. Together they held control of four planets and they were very happy. At the pinnacle of their rule, they bore four children who would eventually control one of the four planets respectively. All was going well and the children had come of age when tragedy struck. While three of the children were on their own planets, the king and queen were visiting the fourth child's planet. Suddenly, a dark force appeared from out of space and completely consumed the planet. The three children rushed to the aid of their parents and brother, but all efforts to infiltrate the planet were repelled. It was then that the evil sought to claim an empire of its own. One by one the other three planets were overrun and the children imprisoned in their own palaces. Except for one. There was one child, the one who ruled the mountainous thunder planet. That child… is me. My planet was overrun by evil forces and me overthrown. Needless to say, the supreme leader of the evil forces was Vaati." Zapto paused and Thramn asked another question. "But what are Vaati's motives for invading so many lands?"

"I'll tell you. There is a legend of mine and my family's people. The legend says that there is a temple on a remote planet that houses a tremendous and limitless power. The power is impossible to find unless a chosen person were to acquire the four keys necessary to find the temple and unlock its power. Although some take this as merely a legend, the royal family knew it to be true. The four keys are actually swords that the four children used to effectively rule. I had one, but it was taken from me as I tried to escape from Vaati. My three other siblings held the other swords, but they too were taken from them when Vaati took over. The only thing Vaati does not have is a chosen person." "But what constitutes a chosen person?" Thramn asked.

"I can answer that question." Blackfire said. "A chosen person is someone who has a close connection with one of the four children. Someone who is trusted greatly by one of the children." "Naturally, Blackfire would be targeted by Vaati as a chosen one. That is what she is after all." Zapto finished. The two looked at each other and Zapto finished his story. "If Vaati were to claim that power, the whole galaxy would be at his mercy. I don't know how, but we need to stop him and free my siblings. That is what we were originally going to ask of you, Robin and Starfire. We need your help. I am a bit worried though…"

Suddenly the balding judge guy spoke up. "You have to go and stop Vaati! You can't just let your siblings remain captive at his hands! You can do it! You have all these friends supporting you. You can't fail!" Zapto looked at the guy for a minute, uncertain and then he cheered up and said, "You're absolutely right! I do have all these friends, don't I? Thanks man! What's your name anyway?" "My birth name is Antonio Robert Ibzan. Why do you ask?" "No reason. Anyway, you'll help me right? Robin? Starfire?" "Of course we will! Together we'll stop Vaati and rescue your siblings. What planet are we going to first?" Robin replied and asked.

"I have a score to settle with Vaati on my home planet. He invaded and nearly imprisoned me. I escaped, but he took my lightning sword. I need that key." Zapto replied. "Then that settles it. You, Blackfire, Starfire and I will all head to your home planet to liberate it from Vaati." Robin said. "Then I wish you the best of luck. May Vaati be stopped and our universe sparred." Thrawm said. And so Zapto, Blackfire, Robin and Starfire got aboard Zapto's ship, the _Thunderbolt_, and set out for Zapto's home planet to free it from Vaati's forces.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10- Attack Upon Entry

Zapto set the coordinates and put the ship onto autopilot until they were within good range of Zapto's home planet. Until then he stayed in his quarters and Robin and Starfire stayed in theirs respectively. There was a knock on Zapto's door and Blackfire stepped in. "Something's troubling you, Zapto. What's wrong?" She asked Zapto. "I'm just a little worried about our mission. Vaati is a powerful force and what he did was unforgivable." Zapto replied. "Remember what Antonio said? You have all of us helping you. Bad guys never get away with things for long. We'll rescue your siblings and restore your planet." "Yea, I know." He paused for a minute. "I never told you how he took over my planet. I had a most trusted advisor. He was the best of his trade and second in command to me. One day he disappeared. A few days later, his most trusted servant, an android name Jinzo, started attacking my palace. Then Vaati came in and stormed my palace and nearly captured me. But I luckily escaped and went to Tamaran and soon became your most trusted advisor during your short rule. Every day I wonder if my advisor betrayed me or if his servant betrayed him. Sigh… but that doesn't matter I guess. What matters now is that we reclaim my planet and defeat Vaati." "That's right. And together, I know we can do anything." "Thanks, Blackfire."

Then a voice spoke on the intercom, "Blackfire, Zapto, we're almost there! Report to the bridge immediately." "Let's go" Zapto said and he and Blackfire joined Robin and Starfire on the main deck. "Alright, Zapto, what's the game plan?" Robin asked. "Well, my planet is highly technological and Vaati took advantage of that when he took over. There is probably a blockade around the planet. We need to sneak in under a false ID, which I have, and sneak into the palace. After that, we'll have to think of something." The planet was in full view now as the ship neared it. Suddenly a voice spoke through on the ships communications com-link. "This is the _Executor_. Please identify yourself." "Where is the ship that's saying that?" Robin asked. Then suddenly a huge starship appeared within view on screen. "There." Zapto replied. "Unknown ship, this is the supreme starship _Executor_. Identify yourselves immediately." Zapto took control of the com-link and began to talk. "_Executor_, this is the _Python_. We are a small trading vessel with goods for the planet's surface. Please allow us to land." "I'll need to check your identification number." There were a few beeps and then the voice responded. "Identification number received. You are free to land." "Thank you. Transmission end."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at this news. The ship began to head to the surface when the main screen went blank. "What's going on?" Robin asked. "I don't know. The system must be malfunctioning…" Zapto started, but a new face appeared on the screen where the planet was a few moments ago. It was metallic with flashing red eyes and in the relative shape of a hedgehog. "Ha ha ha Zapto! Did you honestly think you could run forever? Though I did not expect you to turn up coming back here. And you brought a few friends too. How amusing!" The metal hedgehog said. "Who are you?" Zapto asked. "I am the loyal servant of Vaati; His most favored and powerful achievement. I am called the Metal Sonica. Know it and fear it. Not that you'll have much time to. All units, open fire!" "Zapto, we're surrounded by enemy ships!" Starfire said with slight panic in her voice. "Goodbye, Zapto." Metal Sonica said. The screen returned to normal and they were indeed surrounded with the planet only a short way away.

"What do we do now?" Blackfire asked. "Put the shields on max and pray we survive." They adjusted the shields and prepared themselves for a literal hail storm of blaster fire.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11- Crash Landing

"Shields at full power!" Robin shouted. Suddenly a loud bang sounded and the ship rocked. "95 percent!" He shouted again. "Are the shields going to hold out?" Blackfire asked. "I hope so, Blackfire. I hope so." Zapto replied. As the words were leaving his lips, there was another volley of blaster fire and the ship rocked again. "86 percent!" "We need a new plan or we will surely be vanquished!" Starfire shouted. "I'm thinking! Let's see… Robin, what are the odds of us escaping their blockade?" Zapto asked. "Not good. They have us completely surrounded." Robin replied. The ship rocked again and Zapto got a bit of inspiration.

"Well we'll try anyways! Give me the movement controls." Zapto took the wheel and tried a maneuver that would surely kill them all. He swerved in between two enemy ships in a desperate attempt to break free. All the while, the shield's power was under siege as it decreased with each blaster shot. Zapto was almost free when he made a deadly mistake: A new ship appeared from the planet's surface. It was much bigger than the other ships and had three lethal words written on the side: _Metal Super Sonica_. It fired two large blue blasts from its front. The bolts hit Zapto's ship and all the power was instantly paralyzed.

"What happened?" Robin and Starfire asked. "Metal Sonica's ship just shot two ion charges at us. They are designed to disable all power on a ship." Zapto explained. "Then we're going down!" Blackfire shouted. She was correct and the shocked starship got caught in the planet's gravitational field. It was being pulled in and was rapidly headed for a collision with the planet's surface. "Do something Zapto!" Blackfire screamed. "I'm trying to regain control… there! We have power! It's too late to stop the collision, but I'll try to land somewhere where we can survive. Arggh!" The controls sparked and a familiar face appeared on the screen. "Have a nice landing, Zapto! Though it will be difficult with no control over your ship. The master will be pleased! Ha ha ha!" The transmission ended after some of Metal Sonica's cackling. "Everyone brace for impact!" Zapto yelled. There was an explosion and the ship and surrounding ground burst into flames.

Meanwhile…

"Master, I did as you commanded. Their ship has just crashed in the White Dragon Mountains. There is no way they could have survived." Metal Sonica said to the transmission screen. "Very good, very good. And if by some miracle they do survive?" Vaati answered. "I will put Jinzo on full alert. If they reach the city, He will annihilate them." Metal Sonica replied. "Good. You've done your work. Report to Sectors 2 and 3 and make sure all is well there." "Yes master." Metal Sonica ended the transmission, set his course, and made the jump to hyperspace.

On the planet's surface…

Some time passed and the smoke cleared to reveal the mangled remains of Zapto's ship, _The Thunderbolt_. From among the ruins there were a few groans and Zapto emerged from the rubble. "Blackfire? Robin? Starfire? Is everyone alright?" He asked. There were a few more groans and the latter three also came up from the ship's debris. "Yea we're fine." Robin said. "But where are we?" The two sisters asked. "I'm not sure. My planet is covered in mountains. We could be anywhere." Zapto replied. "I guess if we start walking in any direction, we might find a city eventually." Blackfire suggested. They agreed that that was there best option and began walking in a random direction.

It was eerily quiet; the only sound to be heard was the adventurer's voices. They kept walking until they heard some rocks fall nearby and footsteps other than their own. "Who's there?" Robin shouted. They stood listening for a moment and then a man in a white flowing cloak came sliding down from a hill. He had brown hair and blue eyes. He had a blue shirt and silver pants on with a necklace of what appeared to be a trading card around his neck. "So Zapto, you've returned." He said. "Seto Kaiba! Is that really you?!" Zapto yelled. "Yes, it's me. I was here looking for those beasts, but I've never expected to see you again." "Is that where we are? That means that the capital isn't too far away." "That's right. What happened to you? And who are these people? Never mind. We need a safer place to talk. Things have changed since you left. Come with me." Kaiba motioned for them to follow.

"Who is he?" Blackfire asked. "I'll explain everything later. For now, we should follow Kaiba. I trust him." They followed the man named Kaiba through the mountains until he abruptly stopped. "There is a secret trapdoor hidden here." Kaiba blew away some dirt and rocks and sure enough, a small metal door was there. "Go inside. I'll follow after I shut the door." And so Zapto, Blackfire, Robin, and Starfire all went down into the hole where hopefully they would be safe for the moment.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12- The Headquarters of the Resistance

Kaiba shut the trapdoor behind them as Robin, Starfire, Zapto, and Blackfire entered the secret underground base. Inside was a hallway lit by electricity. At the end of the hallway was a door which seemed to have music coming from it. Kaiba went in front of the rest of them and led the way down the hallway near the door. "After Vaati took over, he placed Jinzo in control of the armed forces. He basically runs the city in Vaati's place." Kaiba explained. "After he took over, those who were closest to you, Zapto were signaled out to be eliminated. Eventually we knew Jinzo and Vaati had to be stopped so myself and a few others formed a resistance group to oppose the evil. I am the leader of the group and the rest of its members are inside this door. Step through after me." And after he said this, Kaiba opened the door and the group stepped inside.

The room was fairly large with only a few chairs around a central table. On one side, there was what appeared to be a small stage. On the stage were four people that everyone on Zapto's planet knew and loved. One of them had light green, almost white hair in the shape of Albert Einstein's hair. He was playing a red electric guitar like he was born to do. One of the others, the only female of the four, had purple hair and a long pink cloak. She was playing a violin like one was never played before. The third person, dressed in an all white cloak with a pinkish-red set of flames at the bottom of it, had the same color hair as the first person's, but it was significantly shorter. He was strumming away on his guitar with his eyes closed. The fourth person had the same color hair as the other two males, but it was spiked to the side. He was wearing a long blue cloak and was pounding on a drum while raising his arms to the roof.

"No way!" Zapto exclaimed. "I would have never thought to ever meet the most popular band on the entire planet!" "You know these guys?" Blackfire asked. "Of course. Who doesn't know the Go-Rock Quads?" The four people stopped playing and the Einstein-haired one, obviously the leader, spoke up. "Yea we're popular, but how rude of to not introduce ourselves to the pretty lady. I'm Billy, the band leader." With that he played his signature notes on his electric guitar. "And I'm Tiffany." The female said as she played her favorite notes on her violin. "And it's me, Garret." The young man in white said as he too played his guitar. "And lastly, I'm Clyde." The final guy said as he banged his drum in his favorite fashion. "And we're the Go-Rock Quads!" They all said in unison as they all played their instruments as one. "They were the most popular band during Zapto's rule." Kaiba explained. "And they were against Vaati. But having so much influence led to Jinzo needing them out of the way. He doesn't like opposition."

"Because he knows we will win eventually. I have foreseen it." And suddenly a woman stepped out from the shadows. She had long black hair and wore a red suit. "My name is Sabrina. I was known for being a psychic and helping people see the future. After I predicted Vaati's hold on the planet being lost. I was hunted down. I found refuge here." "Pleased to meet you." Robin and the others said. "And that's everyone…" Kaiba started but was interrupted by a little boy bursting out of a side door in the room. He had long spiky black hair that he wore down. He, like Kaiba, wore a necklace of a trading card around his neck. "How could you forget me, big brother?" The little boy said. "Oh yes, this is my little brother Mokuba. He may be small, but he's pretty good with technology." "Hey Zapto, I'm a huge fan." Mokuba said. "Uh, thanks. I'm flattered." "Now that everyone's here, why don't we sit down and explain everything." Kaiba suggested. And that is what they did. They all sat around the large table in the center of the room and began to talk.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13- The Resistance Revealed

Around the large table was seated all the members of the resistance, including its newest members. Zapto, Blackfire, Starfire, Robin, Kaiba, Mokuba, Garret, Billy, Clyde, Tiffany, and Sabrina were all there. "I think its time to explain exactly how we all fit into the story of Zapto's planet and what happed after Vaati took over." Kaiba said. "I was third in command after Zapto and his advisor and I had control over the military forces. After the advisor… may I say his name Zapto?" "Yes. His name means nothing now." Zapto replied. "Thank you. Espa Roba. That was his name. What exactly happened to him, none of us know. Some say he was killed. Some say that he abandoned us when Vaati tried to invade. Some even say he betrayed us and tried to help Vaati. But at any rate, his chief servant, Jinzo attacked the palace. Espa Roba was nowhere to be found. Jinzo had amazing power, but Espa always had a strong authority over him. None of us understood what was happening. We all trusted Espa Roba and Jinzo. But Jinzo did have some strange new robots with him. They were terrible. And their power was unlike any we've seen. Led by Jinzo, they all attacked the palace. We didn't know what to do. Zapto went out to try to stop them. But Jinzo had a mindless dedication of destruction. Zapto destroyed some of the robots, but there were too many."

"And then the sky turned purple. And a black figure with a huge glowing red eye appeared and spoke in a dark voice. It said, 'This planet belongs to me now. I am Vaati, conqueror of this galaxy! Your world belongs to me." Zapto threw lightning at the eye, but it struck back with a ferocious flash of dark energy. Zapto was utterly paralyzed by it. That's when the robots swarmed the palace and Jinzo blasted Zapto again and held up his lightning sword and said, 'This planet is for Vaati!". The rest of us were unable to resist. I went into hiding for a while knowing I would be targeted. Jinzo established rule and controlled the capital city as well as the entire planet. His robots patrol the city day and night. I found this underground cave as I searched the mountains. My brother Mokuba and I established base here until we could figure out a way to overthrow Jinzo."

At this point Zapto made a comment, "And why don't you tell them Kaiba why you were searching the mountains?" "A good idea, thank you. These mountains, the ones bordering the capital are called the White Dragon Mountains. Legend has it that an extremely powerful dragon lives deep in the mountains. I've searched the mountains my whole life to find this dragon. I know the legends are true, but so far I've found nothing. But I know that one day, I will find the dragon and use it to defeat Jinzo and Vaati." Now Robin had a question, "That explains a lot, but how did you guys get caught in this?" As he said this, he motioned to the four Go-Rock Quads.

"Well you see," Billy, the band leader began. "It all started one day at the recording studio. We were working on a new song when all of a sudden, our power went all crazy. We thought it was just a technical problem, so we had our tech guy have a look at it. Tiffany, Clyde, and I just sat and chilled for a while, but Garret wanted some fresh air. So he went up on the roof for a quick minute. He wasn't gone for more than five minutes when he came running back all white-faced and crazy ranting about how the other three of us needed to come to the roof pronto. We immediately ran up to the roof and saw that the sky had turned purple and we saw the black figure that Kaiba described. It was terrible and we saw it attack the palace. Then these strange robots started appearing everywhere. They were unlike any kind I've ever seen. They were short and silver colored with a blue dome on the top of their heads and somewhat animal looking eyes. They fired this beam of energy from their long twin arms and started blasting all around the place. So I did what I do best: I played my guitar. The robots all spazzed out and deactivated. Then Garret, Clyde, and Tiffany started playing their instruments and it had the same effect. We managed to escape, but we were tracked down after Jinzo took over. Eventually we found Kaiba when we hiding in the mountains. So we joined the resistance and started helping Kaiba out."

"Well that explains even more." Zapto said. But how do you fit into all this?" As he said that he motioned to Sabrina who had been quiet up until now. "I? I didn't find the resistance, the resistance found me. I knew nothing of the events Kaiba and Billy described up until Kaiba stumbled into my cave one day. I have lived down here for about a year now meditating and honing my psychic power. Kaiba came and explained everything to me and of course I decided to help overthrow Jinzo. I was never very fond of machines, especially ones that threaten the safety of the universe. So Kaiba, Mokuba, and the Go-Rock Quads have been here ever since." "Is learning psychic power hard?" Blackfire asked Sabrina. "Not just anyone can learn to be psychic. Special people are born with a certain level of ESP. Over many years can this power be harnessed. Espa Roba had a strong level of ESP. I wonder if it did him any good."

"I know you oppose Vaati and Jinzo, but does this resistance do?" Starfire asked. "I can answer that." Mokuba spoke up. "We have been striking at Jinzo when we can. You know, simple stuff like stealing supplies and messing with army regulation. That's all we can do because we don't have the type of firepower to really hit Jinzo hard. But one day my big brother will find the legendary dragon and than we can attack the palace." Zapto thought for a moment and then made a bold statement. "No. We can't wait any longer. It's time to attack Jinzo head on. I have a plan, but it's a bit of a long shot." "I've always trusted you. Let's hear it." Kaiba replied. And so Zapto told everyone his plan that he had been concocting the entire meeting. When he was done, it was time to put it into action.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14- Infiltrate and Conquer

Light streamed in as the trapdoor concealing the hideout was opened. Everybody walked out with Mokuba in the rear. "No, Mokuba, it's not safe out there, you stay here and monitor headquarters." Kaiba said. "But big brother…" Mokuba protested. "No arguing! Just stay here." "Ok." Zapto, Blackfire, Starfire, Robin, Sabrina, Kaiba, Garret, Billy, Clyde, and Tiffany headed to the top of the mountain that overlooked the hideout. When they reached the top, Billy had to say to the newcomers, "Well this is it: The city of Bethra'am, the capital of our world." They gazed upon the majestic walled city that lay before them. It almost looked like an ancient Roman city, but with an obvious modern flare. "It feels nice to be home." Zapto said. "Only this time, we have to fight for it." Clyde replied. "Then let's roll!" Robin said.

"OK, so let's review the plan." Kaiba began. "Billy and his siblings found an underground entrance into the city. We'll take that entrance as to not alert the guards until necessary. Then the Go-Rock Quads will draw the attention of all the robotic guards in front of the palace." "We will play our best, right bros?" Tiffany asked. "Totally!" Garret, Clyde, and Billy replied. "Good job. While the guards are focused on stopping the Quads, the rest of us will climb through the back courtyard and infiltrate the palace where Jinzo is waiting." Kaiba finished. "Then let us go take the city!" Starfire exclaimed. The group of rebels worked their way down to the wall of the city, which oddly enough was not under watch on the outside. When they came to the edge of the wall Garret said, "Alright Clyde, do your stuff!" So Clyde cracked his knuckles and gave the wall a jab. Suddenly, a piece of the wall began to part and a hallway was revealed. "In here!" Clyde yelled as everybody scrambled into the darkly lit hallway. The lighting was poor, but the group could still see where they were going. "This was an ancient underground network that was built throughout the city when it was just being built. No one but us has come down here for a whole lot a years." Billy explained. "But we still need to be pretty quiet. You never know." Garret commented.

So they traveled in silence until they came to a part where light streamed from the surface. "This is where we get up. When we climb out, we'll be in an abandoned alley. My siblings and I will sneak away and the rest of you head towards the palace. Understood?" Billy commanded. "Let's go." Zapto said. Kaiba grabbed the covering to the surface and slowly pushed it aside. Then the Go-Rock Quads all climbed out and walked off. Then the rest of the group took the opposite way to the palace. "Hold on!" Starfire quietly exclaimed. She had an absolute right to because for the first time, they say the monstrosities that had taken over Bethra'am. They were marching through the streets mechanically chanting, "Hut, hut, hut!" Billy's description of them was right on the money. Their almost organic eyes were spinning, looking for possible intruders. There were no people walking around, for they had all been shut inside to hide from the evil robots at work. Suddenly, they all turned to the right and began to go into a kind of speed mode. They had boosters in their backs and began to rapidly hover toward the direction of the palace. "Do you think they heard the Go-Rocks Quads?" Robin asked. But he soon got his answer as he heard loud music coming from the palace area. "That's them. Let's move!" Blackfire urged. They traveled by using the back alleys that Zapto and Kaiba knew so well from their childhood. They hid on the roof of a nearby building and watched the scene at the entrance at the palace.

The palace was very large and extravagant and had many pillars at the entrance and all in all, looked a lot like many others palaces. Outside the entrance was the four Go-Rock Quads playing their hardest. "How do you like this, evil robots?!" Billy cried as he played a face-melting guitar solo. "I am, I am, I said I'm not myself! I'm not dead! And I'm not for sale! -Die you evil machines-! Let me be! Just let me be!" He cried. Sweat was running down his face as he played his guitar as if there was no tomorrow. The other Quads were playing equally as hard. Garret was rocking his guitar with surprising vigor and dynamism. Clyde was pounding on his drum with all his strength and Tiffany was pouring out her soul into her violin. While the electrifying concert was taking place, all the robots were fizzing with sparks and almost literally exploding inside.

Zapto and his group were watching the battle take place and were in utter amazement as the robots were dropping like flies before the awesome power of the Go-Rock Quads music. But as each one of the automations was dying, another was taking its place. And suddenly, a booming voice rang from the palace. "Enough! You have crossed the line! Prepare to be destroyed!" The robots stopped and the Quads followed suit. They were all waiting in anticipation to see where the voice had come from. They soon got their answer as a new monstrosity appeared from the sea of robots gathered in front of the palace. From the crowd rose a terrible kind of android known by only one name. As the Go-Rock Quads' eyes grew wide, Kaiba uttered one word that sent shivers down the spine of all present. "Jinzo."


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15- Back in Black

Jinzo was a most terrible and powerful android. He was coated with a strong almost golden metal with a sort of dark green jacket. The steel cuffs he wore over his wrists helped him focus his psychic electric energy. And his face was a most grotesque mechanical plate with shining red eyes and his synthetic brain was clearly visible. He rose above the crowd of robots like the strong military leader that he was. The Go-Rock Quads quivered with fear but strangely, they had the courage to stand up to their oppressor.

"So you think you can just blast us away, hunh?" Billy questioned "You think you can keep on ruling this city with fear and your mechanical cronies? Well, I'm not gonna stand for it! It's time for a cool change!" Billy continued. "That's right!" Billy's three siblings agreed. "Wahaha! Do you think your puny music can stand up to my ultimate control?! I rule this city in the name of the great dark master Vaati. And no one can defeat us!" Jinzo yelled as he charged up an energy blast in his hands and threw it at the Quad's stage. "That doesn't mean we can't try. Go!" Billy yelled as his band started their passionate performance. "Don't hold me up now! I can stand my own ground! You won't bring me down, down, down, down!" The robots began self-destructing again, but Jinzo was too powerful to be affected by it.

"Enough! He yelled as he threw, this time with perfect accuracy, an energy blast at center stage. The charge knocked Billy, Clyde, and Tiffany off, but Garret was still playing his heart out. "It's my life! And it's now or never, cause I ain't gonna live forever! I'm gonna take you down while I'm alive!" He sang. "Then you will pay the price!" Jinzo yelled as pure hate enhanced his psycho-electric authority. But Garret never wavered even when Jinzo let out a yell and threw his blast. And just as it was about to nail Garret with everything, a lightning bolt came ripping through the air and negated the blast. "What?!" Jinzo shrieked. "I'm back!" And from the alley where he had been hiding, Zapto stepped into plain view. "This is impossible!" Jinzo yelled in his mechanical voice. "On the contrary, it is very possible." Kaiba said as he stepped into view. "Kaiba, you traitor!" Jinzo yelled once again. "It's time to end this." Sabrina said softly as she came into focus. "No one can take the rightful throne." Blackfire said as she stepped in. "Especially you!" Robin and Starfire said in unison as they both walked out from the alley. Billy, Clyde, and Tiffany were now rising up again onto the stage.

"Face it Jinzo, you're outnumbered. You can't win." Clyde stated. "Jinzo, we're breaking your habit right now. En garde!" Billy said and they started playing again. But this time, something strange was happening. Jinzo's cronies were not exploding. "What the..." Billy trailed off, but he soon got his answer. There was a metallic screech and three green jet fighters came flying in. They had huge tanks on their sides and machine guns on their underbellies. But more importantly, they had a sort of flat blinking sphere on their backs. "You fools!" Jinzo began. "I've known all along about the Go-Rock Quads' power to destroy my henchmen. And for quite a while, I've been working on a remedy to your musical power. The sphere on the back of my jets negates the destructive effect of your rock and roll. Prepare for your demise!" Jinzo cackled some more and then ran into the palace.

"After him!" Zapto commanded, but that did not seem to be an option. The words were not even leaving his lips when there was a sound like a far off roar and suddenly, two eccentric looking tanks came ripping through the streets. They were blue, with intimidating red drills protruding out from the front. "We have you surrounded! Surrender now; resistance is futile!" A mechanical voice said. "How are we gonna fight off all these machines without our musical power?" Clyde asked. "The way we always do: the hard way." Robin replied as he drew his metal pole. "Alright, time to rock!" The Go-Rock Quads began playing, and the battle began.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16- The Cyber Raider

Zapto, Robin, Starfire, Blackfire, and Kaiba were all ready for the fight of their lives. Zapto had his electric power charged to the max. Robin spun his metal pole in the air violently, while Starfire's eyes lit up and energy formed around her hands. Blackfire was in the same mode as her sister, while Kaiba pulled a sharp, metal blade from his coat. The various machines all pointed their weapons in the direction of the rebels in return. The ground robots were staring menacingly at the rebels while their long arms fizzled with electricity. The spiked tanks set their drills spinning, while the powerful flying jets loaded up their blaster guns.

"Rock it!" Zapto yelled and the fiery battle began. Robin and Kaiba ran around and struck down many of the ground robots with their metal weapons. But the robots kept coming and vastly outnumbered them. Starfire and Blackfire tried to fly, but for some reason, they could not. "Why can't I fly like normally?" Starfire asked herself. "It must be the sphere on the backs of those jets!" Blackfire exclaimed. "It's no use trying to get up that high." Zapto pointed out. "Attack those tanks." So Starfire, Blackfire, and Zapto each took a tank and started blasting it. Sabrina sat at the edge of the fray, in the alley and thought quietly. "We can not defeat these forces on our own." She thought to herself. "But who will help us?"

The heroes seemed to be outnumbered. For every robot that was destroyed, two more took its place. And the tanks seemed to be indestructible. The jets kept shooting a steady stream of machine gun fire, but none of the heroes were able to hit them. "How…can… we…win?" Kaiba asked while panting. But then there was a metallic screech that came from the top of one of the buildings. The robots froze for a moment and everybody looked to see where the noise had come from. They looked to a nearby roof, where now stood a human-shaped figure. He had a dark blue one-piece outfit with yellow bands rippling through it. He wore a helmet with the same color scheme as the outfit, but with spikes protruding from the sides and the man's face was completely hidden.

The figure jumped up from the building roof and landed on top of one of the jets. With ninja-like reflexes, he pulled a small blaster from his suit and shot a charged red beam right into the flashing green disc on top of the jet. It continued to rip right through the entire ship and sent it pummeling to the ground. While the other enemy forces were still stunned at this quick and unexpected move, the ninja-like figure jumped to one of the other jets and shot through it, sending it spiraling to earth. Then he jumped again to the third jet and exploded it too with his red laser blaster. Then he spun around in the air and landed on one of the tanks.

But by now, the enemy forces were beginning to react to this new and unforeseen hero. The tank spun around, attempting to throw the ninja off. But the ninja held tight and opened up the hatch on the top of the tank and shot a laser beam into the interiors of the machine. Almost immediately, the drills stopped spinning and the tank fell silent.

The heroes did not know who this ninja could be. They all stood in amazement as he masterfully ripped apart three jets and two more tanks. Soon, only the sea of foot robots was left. "The enemy is too strong! Retreat!" One of the robots said in his mechanical voice and all of the robots propelled themselves into the air with their jet packs and flew into the palace. Now only the heroes were left standing just outside the palace.

"How can we ever thank you?" Zapto asked in gratitude to the ninja. "But just who are you?" Kaiba asked. "I am the Cyber Raider. I work for justice and freedom." The ninja said in a voice that sounded human enough, but somewhat warped. "Does that mean you're an ally of the Resistance?" Zapto asked. "No. I work alone." The Cyber Raider replied. "That's too bad. We could really use your help." Robin said. "However, I do want just as much as you do the destruction of Jinzo and his surrogate empire. And so I will join forces with you now to help take him down." The Cyber Raider told them. "That's great!" Starfire exclaimed. "Them let's go and get em!" Billy called from the stage.

And so the heroes, Robin, Zapto, Kaiba, Blackfire, Starfire, the Go-Rock Quads, and the Cyber Raider, rushed into the palace, hot on the heels of Jinzo. Sabrina remained outside the building. "I wonder if… No it can't be." Sabrina thought to herself. And then she followed into the depths of the palace and Jinzo's lair.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17- Metal Morph

The front door burst open and the heroes rushed in. The anteroom of the palace had three doors in it: one to the left, one to the right, and one directly ahead of them. So there were three possible routes that Jinzo could have taken: left, right, or forward. "How do we know where he went?" Blackfire asked the group. "He went into the room directly ahead of us." The Cyber Raider said. "How do you know?" Kaiba asked him. "I just know. Jinzo and I go way back." "I'll guess we'll have to take your word for it." Zapto said. "Let's go!"

And with that, they burst through the door ahead of them. What they saw sent shivers down all of their spines. Previously the room Zapto used to entertain his guests, Jinzo had transformed the room into a virtual dungeon. The entrance doorway sat on a platform connected to the wall. On the other side of the room was a similar platform with another door. But dividing the huge space between them was a huge chasm. Inside the long pit were scattered spikes and pieces of shrapnel. Standing on the other platform at the other end of the room was none other than Jinzo himself.

"So good of you to join me." He said in his metallic voice. "Jinzo, what have you done to my palace?!" Zapto called to him. "Ha ha ha! Your palace? This palace no longer belongs to you, fool! It belongs to the great dark master Vaati." Jinzo called back. "Well we're here to get it back. So give up Jinzo." Kaiba taunted. "Give up? I have no intention of giving up. If you really want to stop me, then so be it." And with that, a caged wall underneath Jinzo's platform opened up and a most terrible beast came out. It was a four-legged blue fiend, with sharp claws and evil eyes. Despite its obvious primal power, it was in chains and howled and screamed as a mechanical floor moved it out into the open. "What is that?!" Blackfire asked in a shocked voice. "This beast? We call it Zoa. It's a dark fiend from the blackest plains of the far reaches of this planet. You may wonder why it's so chained up. You will soon find out." Jinzo said. But as the words were leaving his metallic mouth, the ceiling started to move.

"Initiate Metal Morph!" Jinzo yelled. The ceiling again shifted and mechanical arms came moving down holding giant plates of metal. The arms, about fifteen in numbers, all shot out at Zoa and covered it in heavy iron metal. At once, its screaming came to an end and the arms moved away and contracted back into the ceiling. "Ha ha ha! It is complete! Zoa has now been transformed into Metal Zoa!" Jinzo yelled in triumph. The change in the beast was tremendous. It now stood on two legs, completely covered in steel and iron, and had two huge cannons on its shoulders. Its face now stood up with spikes and it had piercing red, motorized eyes.

It reared back its head and let out a howl that was half animal, half machine. It was almost too much for the heroes to believe. "Just try and reach me now, fools!" Jinzo cackled as he walked out of the room and locked the door behind him. "How do we get across now?" Robin asked. "We'll have to fight off this metal monstrosity." Billy suggested. "Leave it to me." The Cyber Raider commanded. "No way. It's too strong. We'll fight together." Zapto said. "Alright. The rest of you stay here where it's safe." "Fools! You need all of us to help you!" Kaiba pointed out. "We can handle ourselves, Kaiba. Stay here." "Yes, Zapto." And Zapto and the Cyber Raider jumped into the spiked chasm of Metal Zoa.

The metal fiend let out a roar as Zapto and the Cyber Raider prepared for battle. "I'll take his left side and you take his right." The Cyber Raider commanded. "Sure!" Zapto replied. They split up and Metal Zoa swiped at the two of them. His claws missed and Zapto wrapped around and nailed it with a lightning blast. Metal Zoa roared again and swiped its claws around again in a fit of rage. Zapto jumped back and the Cyber Raider punched Metal Zoa in the chest. Metal Zoa went falling back from the shock of the attack. "Whoa! How did you do that?" Zapto asked in amazement. "By charging my fists with electric energy, I can unleash a power punch attack." The Cyber Raider explained. "Neat. It's getting back up!" Zapto exclaimed and the beast got back to its feet. It let out another roar and the cannons on its shoulders began to fizz with energy.

Metal Zoa took aim and let loose twin beams of power from its cannons. The heroes sidestepped to dodge, but the outskirts of the blasts knocked Zapto off his feet. Metal Zoa took advantage of the opportunity and took a slash at him. "Look out!" The Cyber Raider yelled and punched Metal Zoa in its side. It recoiled and shot a cannon blast at him at near point blank range. The Cyber Raider went flying, but Zapto was ready and jumped at Metal Zoa's head and blasted it at near point blank range. Shrapnel flew everywhere and Metal Zoa fell over.

"Are you okay?" Zapto called as he ran over to the Cyber Raider. The Cyber Raider staggered to his feet. "I think so." The Cyber Raider said in reply. "That's good. I think we just won. I blasted that thing at close range. There's no way it could survive it." "I don't know. Jinzo can create some really powerful machines." "How do you know Jinzo so well?" "Zapto… Look out!" Zapto turned quickly around just as Metal Zoa was rising to its feet. The Cyber Raider quickly reached into its suit and pulled out his laser gun. In one fluid motion, he pulled the trigger and shot a solid laser beam straight through Metal Zoa's cold, steel heart. Metal Zoa let out one final roar and crumpled to the ground.

The rest of the heroes in the party jumped down into the chasm and congratulated Zapto and the Cyber Raider. Everyone looked happy that the road to Jinzo was now open, but Kaiba still had an angry look on his face. "What is it Kaiba?" Sabrina asked in a concerned voice. "Who are you?" Kaiba said as he pointed right at the Cyber Raider. "I guess the time has come to reveal myself." He said as he removed his helmet. The expressions of everyone turned instantly to complete shock.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18- Visions of the Past

"I'm sorry I've deceived you all, but it was necessary to maintain peace." The Cyber Raider said as he removed his helmet. The new face was no older than Zapto or Robin. He had bluish-green hair that went down almost to his shoulders and somewhat Asian eyes. "It can't be…" Zapto trailed off. "I knew it all along." Sabrina calmly said. "You! I didn't know you were alive!" Kaiba exclaimed. "Yes, it is I, Espa Roba." He said.

Nobody could believe it: Espa Roba, Zapto's second in command had returned. Everyone just stood there in amazement, except for Kaiba. "Where have you been?! What happened to you?! Why is Jinzo on their side now?!" Kaiba shouted as he grabbed Espa Roba by the collar. "Kaiba, calm down." Zapto commanded. Kaiba gave in and released Espa Roba. "Now Espa, please explain all that has happened to you." Starfire calmly asked him. "Time is short, so I'll make this quick." Espa Roba began. "As you all know, Jinzo was my most loyal follower. He did all that he was programmed to do. But because of his unique encoding, he also had a part of him that could actually think just as any one of us can do. And that is how this began."

"One day, I was in my room in the palace when I heard an explosion. I rushed out into the courtyard where I heard the sound coming from and I saw an unusual sight. One of the palace servants was lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. Jinzo was standing overhead of him with his hands fizzing with energy. At that moment, I saw something in Jinzo's eyes that I had never seen before: anger. The servant got up and I didn't quite remember this servant before either. But despite the fact that he had obviously been attacked by Jinzo, he had an evil grin on his face. Jinzo charged up a blast again and shot it at him. He fell again and I rushed out into the scene. 'Jinzo, stop!' I yelled. Jinzo looked at me and said, 'Sorry, master.' I was about to say something, but the servant got up once again. This time, a dark aura surrounded him."

"'He he he, very good Jinzo.' He said in a mysteriously dark voice. 'Master, this servant is not one of us.' Jinzo told me. I looked at the servant and asked him, 'Who are you?' 'Who am I? I am the conqueror of worlds and the dark master. You may call me Vaati.' And then the servant transformed into a little man in a purple cloak with some kind of eye on the top of his cloak. I stood in amazement as Vaati stretched out his hand and cloaked Jinzo in a dark aura also. 'What are you doing?' I asked with a bit of fear in my voice. 'I am taking control of this planet.' He calmly replied. And then Jinzo let out a scream and became one of Vaati's servants. 'Now your planet is mine.' Vaati laughed and then he disappeared. However Jinzo was now evil. He blasted out of the courtyard and fled."

"I wasn't quite sure of what to do. I ran to warn Zapto, but I was attacked on the way by the robot attack force, the same robots you encountered on the streets. I had no choice but to flee the planet. I knew I had to be stronger in order to stop Jinzo and Vaati. So I flew out to a far off planet that I had heard about. Even I don't quite know the name of it. It was a planet completely surrounded by a desert, with few inhabitants. But one of the inhabitants was a wise and powerful sage. He trained me and helped me improve my mental and physical abilities. Soon, I knew it was time to return."

"When I arrived, the enemy forces were in high gear. I overheard from a few of the guards that an enemy had been spotted in front of the palace. I listened even more with my enhanced sense of hearing that I developed and heard music. I knew right away it was the sound of my favorite band on the whole planet, the Go-Rock Quads. I rushed to the scene and waited for just the right moment to attack. I saw my opportunity before me and I jumped at the chance. And you know the rest."

Espa Roba finished and Billy spoke up, "Well I'm flattered to hear that we're your favorite band, but we still have a bigger problem: Jinzo is still at large. I'm gonna assume you have a plan to stop Jinzo, right?" "Yes, I have thought of something to stop Jinzo. That's why I developed the Cyber Raider suit." "Well alright then! Let's go get em!" Garret exclaimed. "Hold on a second." Robin said. "What's the game plan here? Are we just going to rush in to the next room and hope there's no trap?" "That's exactly what we are going to do." Zapto replied. "You see, this is my palace, and I know that there is no room after the next one. It's just a big empty room with a staircase to the upper rooms. The only way Jinzo could possibly flee is up. So no matter what we have him trapped." "Smart thinking." Blackfire commented. "Alright then, let's hit it!" Billy exclaimed. Starfire and Blackfire helped the grounded members of the party to the upper level and together they all entered the next room for the big fight with Jinzo.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19- Psychic Control

The door burst open and the group of heroes went running into the room. It was a simple room, but it was quite interesting. The majority of the room was a wide open space, but there was a large television near the top of the far wall. The only other exit to the room, other than the doorway where they had just passed, was a stairway that led to the upper sanctum of the palace. There was no one else in the room when the heroes came in.

"Jinzo, show yourself!" Espa Roba yelled. "Ha ha ha! You simple-minded fools! I have you trapped right where I want you!" A voice boomed throughout the room. Immediately, a big metal sheet fell and blocked the exit to the room where they fought Metal Zoa. At the same time, an electric barrier formed blocking the entrance to the staircase, effectively blocking off all possible escape routes. A hole opened up from the ceiling and Jinzo jumped down from the top. "Now you're trapped." He said as the ceiling closed up once again. "Do you think that will help? We can beat you here or anywhere. It doesn't matter where you run to you coward!" Kaiba shouted at Jinzo. "Me a coward? It was part of my strategy all along. I lured you in here to crush you!" Jinzo shouted back as he charged his hands with psycho-electric energy. "Then I challenge you to a one on one fight to the finish." Zapto challenged him. "I will fight any one of you and still eradicate you." "Then let it be me who battles you." Espa Roba butted in. "Espa are you sure?" Zapto asked him. "Yes, I started this mess and I can end it. If I had kept a better eye on Jinzo none of this would have happened. Besides, we both have psychic abilities. We're more or less even." "Alright, go ahead." Espa Roba strapped on his helmet and prepared for a fight.

"Mufufu, and now the servant overpowers the master." Jinzo said as he threw a ball of energy at Espa Roba/Cyber Raider. Espa jumped and dodged it and shot a red laser beam from his ray gun. The beam missed its mark and sliced the floor near Jinzo. Jinzo threw another energy blast towards Espa, but he had a new trick up his sleeve. There was a quick pulse of energy going down his right leg and Espa Roba kicked the blast and reflected it right back at Jinzo. The blast hit Jinzo straight in the front. "Urgh! I see you have some new tricks. No matter. I have some tricks of my own." Jinzo said and he shot a pulsing red beam from his eyes. Espa Roba was caught off guard and was hit by it. He hit the ground and shot another laser beam at Jinzo. It barley scrapped his shoulder and burned some metal off. Jinzo reacted and Espa Roba rose to his feet again.

Espa Roba fired another laser beam at Jinzo and Jinzo let loose another pulsing beam from his eyes. The two beams hit each other in midair and it was a battle of power. The point where the beams connected kept shifting as Espa's beam started overpowering Jinzo's and then vice versa. "You can't beat me! I am the most powerful machine!" Jinzo yelled as the beams continued to clash. "Jinzo! You're being brainwashed by Vaati. Try to break free!" Espa yelled back. "Not to the death!" And the beams continued to go back and forth, however Espa Roba's beam was slightly gaining the upper ground. But suddenly, Jinzo let out a battle cry and his beam instantly gained power. Espa Roba realized that his ray gun was no match, but was able to come up with a plan on his feet. At about the time where Jinzo was going to blast him, Espa Roba dropped his gun and slid underneath the beam. As the beam ripped through the gun and hit the wall in the back, Espa Roba kept sliding right down to Jinzo and pulled out another gun and shot him straight through his mechanical heart.

"This isn't over… You won't make it off this planet alive. Vaati can't be stopped…" Jinzo whispered and then crumpled to the ground. "He was my favorite servant too." Espa Roba said as he stood up and looked down at the defeated and dead Jinzo. "So that's it." Zapto said as he walked over to where Espa Roba and Jinzo were. "Well Jinzo's dead. The only thing left to do now is reclaim this planet." "And I need my Lightning Sword back. Without it, Vaati's plan might succeed." "What is Vaati after anyway?" "We'll fill you in later, but for now, let's just go." The electric barricade in front of the staircase went down, opening up the way to the top. The heroes began walking towards the staircase, when suddenly the barricade sprang back. "What's happened?" Blackfire asked. "A ha ha ha! Did you really think you could get away that easily?" A voice called out as if from nowhere. "Who said that? Show yourself!" Kaiba asked and commanded. The giant television flickered to life and a new face showed up on the screen. Surprisingly, the boy looked much younger than Zapto or Espa Roba, probably no older than twelve years of age. He had sea blue hair, slightly lighter in the front, and he had bright blue eyes. "Zapto, Kaiba, it's time to pay up. I have you trapped right where I want you and you can't escape my grasp. A ha ha ha!"


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20- The True Master

"Who are you and what do you want?" Zapto asked the figure on the television screen. "Who am I? I am one of Vaati's most trusted individuals. Your friend Kaiba should know who I am. Isn't that right, Seto?" The boy asked. "I wish I could say different, but yes, I know this kid." Kaiba replied. "A kid you say? You just don't want to admit that I'm better than you! But that doesn't matter because now you are in my trap. So why don't you educate your little friends on who I am, Seto?" "As far as I'm concerned, you're just another twerp."

"Ah, Seto, it always was your arrogance that was you're greatest weakness. Very well, I'll tell them. My name is Noah. Zapto, you've probably never heard of me, but I should have been you're third-in-command, not Seto." "And why is that? I got what I deserved and you didn't. So stop complaining." "Silence! You don't have a say! Our father favored you the most and could care less about me." "What does he mean 'our father', Kaiba?" Zapto asked him. "It doesn't really matter." Kaiba replied. "Doesn't matter?! Do you not care about your own brother?" Noah asked. "As far as I'm concerned, you don't really count as a brother." Kaiba replied. "Kaiba, is this true? Is Noah really your brother?" Zapto asked. "Unfortunately, yes. Why are you here, Noah? No one has seen you in ages."

"You ask why I have returned, do you Seto? I'll tell you why I've returned: to claim what is rightfully mine! Back when we all lived with my father, we were all one big family. My father was a very wealthy man and had only the very best of everything. I was the second son after Seto, but still older than Mokuba. As we grew up, my father took a particular interest in Seto, even though I was smarter and more tactical thinking than him." "I beg to differ." Kaiba butted in. "Silence! Although my father paid more attention to my older brother than me, I still followed him wherever he went. I was his most loyal son! But than one day, Seto and Mokuba saw an opportunity in Zapto's palace and left home to claim a job. And then I found out that Seto became third-in-command and leader of the armed forces and Mokuba and him were living in the palace. I urged my father to let me go there too, but he told me to stay home and that I would never be as successful as Seto. I was heartbroken. Until one say, when I saw opportunity knocking at the palace. From the balcony of my house I saw a giant dark eye blasting at the palace. And then I heard a new voice calling me."

"'Noah.' It whispered. 'Come to the palace and you will get what you deserve.' I asked it how I would get there, but then I heard an explosion coming from my front gate. I ran to see what had happened, and when I got there, I saw robots attacking my house. My father was dashing around trying to stop the attackers. But he didn't know or care where I was. So I snuck out of the house and ran towards the palace. When I got there, Vaati was in charge and he gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. He opened my mind to the psychic power that was already inside me. The only thing I had to was serve him as one of his generals." "Who are Vaati's generals?" Zapto asked Noah. "A ha ha ha! The generals are the best of the best in Vaati's empire! You see, since Vaati has control over four planets, he has three generals to maintain control of the three planets where he's not. They are selected for their power and tactical higher thinking, something that Seto will never have over me."

"You think that just because you came along at the right time and took what Vaati gave you that that makes you better than everyone else?" Kaiba yelled. "You didn't take over the planet, Vaati did and gave it too you. I worked hard to gain the position I'm in now. Face it Noah, you're just a spoiled kid who has had everything handed to him." "Silence! The last time I checked you're in no position to brag about! I don't believe you understand the full extent of my power. You see, I was controlling Jinzo the entire time! Vaati might have brainwashed him in the beginning, but he soon handed him over to me. I have even more psychic power than you, Espa Roba! And I also have Zapto's source of power: his Lightning Sword. You can't defeat me!"

"Then why don't you prove it?" Kaiba challenged. "I suppose I could." Noah replied. The electric barrier blocking the stairway went down. "Climb up the stairs, if you really want to. See you at the top!" Noah laughed some more and then the television screen turned off. "We have no choice, we have to keep going." Zapto stated. "You're right. Noah's no threat. We'll take him down and then move on." Kaiba said. And then the party scampered up the stairs to the upper areas of the palace.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21- Psycho Electric Clash

The heroes climbed to the top of the long staircase and reached the new room near the top of the palace. The room had a somewhat domed ceiling, but other than that, it was just empty spaces. There were two doors, each on opposite sides of the room, but there were no other exits than the staircase that the heroes just ascended. Standing in the center of the room was none other than Noah. In his hand he held a sword that shone with electrical energy.

"Is this what you came for, Zapto?" Noah taunted as he waved the sword in the air. "Noah! Give me back my sword!" Zapto demanded. "I don't think so." Noah replied. "If you really want this back, you'll have to fight me for it." "Then so be it." Zapto said as he charged his hands with lightning. "No Zapto, I'll fight this kid." Kaiba said. "Kaiba, are you sure?" "I can take him. This twerp can't defeat me." Kaiba said confidently as he pulled a long sword out of his coat. "It doesn't matter who I fight. It'll be fun to beat my weaker brother Seto." "Speak for yourself, Noah" "I won't need to. The time for idle chatting is over! It's time to show you all my ultimate power!" Noah shouted as the Lightning Sword he was holding began to activate and ripple with pure electrical energy. "En garde, Seto." Noah said and the fight began.

Seto Kaiba let out a battle cry and went running towards Noah with his sword held high. As calm as he could possibly be, Noah deflected the slash with his sword and zapped Kaiba with lightning. Kaiba fell to one knee from the shock of the blow. "Is it that easy to defeat you, Seto?" Noah taunted as he looked down at his brother. "Not by a long shot, kid." Kaiba said as he rose to his feet and tried an uppercut blow. In a most blasé manner, Noah wrapped his sword around and sent Kaiba's sword flying from his hands and landing a few feet away. "Face it Seto. I'm just stronger than you." Noah said. "I've never given up on anything, and I don't plan on starting now." Kaiba said as he slid to the side and reclaimed his weapon. Noah cracked a smile and Kaiba jumped into the air in an attempt to bring his sword down onto Noah's head. Noah's eyes sparked with a navy blue pulse and Kaiba was surrounded with the same color aura and suspended in midair. "What's going on? I can't move!" Kaiba asked. "It's the same thing that Thramn did back on Tamaran." Blackfire stated. "Noah must have the power of telekinesis!" "Very good. That's just one of the powers Vaati bestowed on me." Noah said. Noah tilted his head to the side and Kaiba went flying against the wall.

"I doubt you were expecting this, Seto." Noah said to his fallen brother. Kaiba rose to his feet. "Like I said, I'll never give up." He told Noah. "You'll soon learn to give up." Noah told Kaiba as his eyes lit up with telekinetic energy. "Not so fast Noah!" An up until now quiet voice spoke up. "You're not the only one with psychic powers around here!" Espa Roba called out as his eyes lit up and canceled out Noah's power. "I almost forgot about you, Espa." Noah said to him as his eyes lit up once again and an invisible pulse of psychic energy was shot at Espa Roba and sent him sliding across the floor. "I guess it's a psychic dual then." Espa Roba said as he sent his own wave of psychic power. The two stood there facing each other, each focusing their psychic energy on overpowering the other. But Kaiba saw this telekinetic battle as an opportunity to strike.

Kaiba lifted his sword and went up right behind Noah, when Noah suddenly turned around and swung his lightning sword and hit Kaiba right in the side. "Urgh!" Kaiba exclaimed in pain as he fell to the ground. But the split in Noah's concentration allowed Espa Roba's pulse of energy to hit him. He went flying across the room, but still managed to stay on his feet. "It's not over yet! I still have Zapto's Lightning Sword as an outlet of my own power!" Noah cried out as he lifted the sword into the air and let the lightning flow across the room.

"Not so fast, Noah!" Billy shouted as he lifted his guitar high into the air. "Billy, the band leader of the Go-Rock Quads; your band always was my favorite on this planet. But what can you do to stop me?" Noah questioned. "I can use my guitar as a lightning rod and absorb all your blasts. Come on band, make some noise!" Billy shouted out. Almost instantly the lightning that was striking around the room was being redirected into Billy's guitar, making it fizz with pure energy. As Billy let loose an unparalleled guitar solo, the other three Quads began playing in perfect harmony the song of victory for their cause. "Impossible! I can't lose this way!" Noah shouted. But Espa Roba fired another psychic pulse at Noah and sent him flying against the wall. "It's very possible, Noah." Zapto said.

"A ha ha ha! You're all so simple!" Noah laughed. "How can you say that, Noah?" Kaiba asked as he staggered to his feet. "We have you cornered. There is no way to escape. Just give up." Noah laughed some more and then said, "I thought you said to never give up. Do you honestly think I would let myself get into this position? I don't think so." Suddenly the side of the dome above Noah opened up and one of the jet planes from before came flying in. A rope dropped down and Noah grabbed hold of it. "I've actually known where your resistance base has been this entire time. I think it's time for a coup de etat to your home base. And maybe little Mokuba would like to witness my ultimate glory too. But you never think of other brothers, do you Kaiba?" Noah taunted. "You watch it Noah. I'm always there for Mokuba." "We'll see Kaiba. And you too Zapto. I'll be seeing you all later. A ha ha ha!" Noah laughed some and then flew his jet away towards the direction of the mountains.

"We have to go and stop Noah." Starfire commented. "You're right. Let's go!" Zapto exclaimed. The heroes dashed down the stairs back to the front entrance, but Kaiba was still limping from Noah's blow. "Kaiba, are you okay?" Zapto asked him. "I'm fine. If Noah does anything to Mokuba, he'll pay." Kaiba replied. "Don't worry, we'll stop him. Now let's go." "Right" And then Zapto and Kaiba followed the rest of the party out of the palace.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22- Pursuit

The party of heroes walked out of the palace and back into the sunlight of the outside city. There were no more of the robots running around, however there were a few lifeless robot bodies still lying there. "Where did Noah run off to?" Robin asked the group. "He said he was going to invade our secret base, but there's no way he could have known where it was right?" Tiffany of the Go-Rock Quads asked. "Actually, it's very possible. Who knows what Vaati had told to him? We have to be careful." Kaiba replied. "Then let's go!" Billy shouted as they began running back to the secret tunnel that allowed them to enter the city.

They ran to the street where it was hidden and lifted the metal cap blocking the entrance. After they all jumped inside, they began the underground hike back to the city walls. Not too long after, a wall on the far side of the city opened a small hole and Zapto, Kaiba, Espa Roba, Robin, Starfire, Blackfire, Sabrina, Garret, Billy, Clyde, and Tiffany stepped out to the outskirts of the White Dragon Mountains. Looking towards the mountains, the heroes saw round flying machines. "What are those?" Blackfire asked pointing at the flying machines. "I don't know. I guess we'll find out. Let's go." Kaiba said and the heroes traveled further into the mountains.

When the heroes arrived near the spot of the secret entrance to the resistance headquarters, they encountered a shocking scene. Flying around the area were round machines with bat-like wings and multiple arms coming out of their central spheres and each arm had a metal blade at the end. The trapdoor to the headquarters was all busted up and the flying machines were slashing at the mountainsides. "What is going here? What are these flying machinations?" Espa Roba asked. "A ha ha ha! I see you've met my Mechanical Chasers!" A familiar voice laughed. "Noah!" Kaiba shouted. "What have you done here? Where's Mokuba? For that matter, where are you? Show yourself, coward!" "A ha ha! As you wish Seto!" There was a loud rumbling noise and then the biggest evil machine yet came driving towards the scene.

This new monstrosity was much larger than even the tanks the heroes encountered earlier. It had an evil-looking dragon head with a huge blaster cannon on top of it. Next to its head were two other blaster cannons, one on each side of its head. Behind its mechanical dragon head was a fully mechanized draconic body with tank tracks for feet. Inside a small dome above the central blaster cannon sat Noah. "A ha ha! Meet my Barrel Dragon!" He called out. "What do you think you're trying to prove Noah?" Kaiba asked. "What am I trying to prove? I'm trying to prove everything! I'm proving that I'm better than you and I'm proving my power before Vaati. Now do you surrender or are I am going to have to blast you with my Barrel Dragon's cannons?" Noah asked. "Bring it on, Noah! We'll never give up!" Zapto replied. "Then so be it! A ha ha ha!" Noah laughed as he charged up the blaster cannons.

Inside the Barrel Dragon…

"Isn't it great, Mokuba?" Noah asked his younger brother. "Why are you doing this Noah?" Mokuba asked from the back seat of the Barrel Dragon. Although he was tied up, his mouth was still able to speak and move. "Because I am much stronger than our older brother Seto and Vaati have given me the chance to prove it." Noah replied. "But why? Why can't we just live in peace like we did when we were younger?" "There is no peace Mokuba; that is what our father believed. After Vaati burned our house and took our father's arms factory, I was placed in charge of this planet. And that is what I always wanted: power. Power over Seto and power over everyone else." "Noah, why do you hate so much?" "It's not hate Mokuba; it's merely the desire for justice and the desire to claim what I rightfully deserve." "Noah…" But Mokuba's voice trailed off. "It's ready! A ha ha!" Noah laughed as he pulled the trigger.

Back outside…

"Fire!" Noah yelled and the Barrel Dragon's cannons flared to life. The cannons pulsed with energy and suddenly a blast of power was shot out of each cannon respectively. The outside two landed to the sides of the party, but the third, central blast was headed straight for the heroes. "Watch out!" Blackfire yelled as they scattered to avoid the attack. Luckily, no one was hurt by the blast, but already the cannons were recharging. "How are we gonna beat this?" Garret asked. "I say we do what we do best, brother. Let's play!" Clyde replied and the Go-Rock Quads began another vibrant concert to set the tempo for the fight. "On a cold winter morning, in a time before the light, in flames of death's eternal reign we ride towards the fight! When the darkness is falling down and the times are tough alright, the sound of evil laughter falls around the world tonight!" Billy sang as the Barrel Dragon continued its barrage of cannon fire. Meanwhile, Blackfire, Zapto, Kaiba, Robin, Starfire, and Espa Roba tried to penetrate the heavy armor of the beast. But the flying Mechanical Chasers did not make that easy. They continuously tried to slash at the heroes with their blade-like arms. Zapto and company destroyed the Chasers that attacked them, but it seemed that for every one they destroyed, two more took the place of the fallen one. But somehow, the heroes were gaining the upper hand. And Noah could not tolerate this.

"Enough!" Noah shouted. "The time has come to end this!" The cannons of the Barrel Dragon pulsed more violently than before and the cannons moved to aim at their targets. With a thunderous sound, the cannons fired. One blast hit the rock formation the Go-Rock Quads were standing on, putting an end to the performance. "Are you all alright?" Billy asked his siblings. "Yea, we're fine, bro." They replied. "Good." The second and third shots vibrated the air around the Dragon and zapped all of the heroes. "Now it's time to bring in the real army!" Noah shouted and a small rumble could be heard. "What's that?" Kaiba asked. But he soon got his answer as a black cloud began coming from beyond the mountains. But the cloud was really a swarm of brand new Mechanical Chasers! "Stand your ground!" Zapto commanded. "How are we going to stop this?" Espa Roba asked. "I don't know. Get ready though." Robin replied.

But as the flying Chasers moved closer, a loud roar echoed across the mountains and a burst of white lightning ripped through the swarm of robots. "It can't be…" Sabrina whispered to herself. But it was. From behind the tallest peak in the area, the Ultimate Dragon arose! "At last! I have found the Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba shouted out.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23- The Ultimate Dragon

The dragon let out another roar and for the first time since he took control of the planet, Noah looked nervous. The legendary dragon of these mountains had a pure white body, but piercing blue eyes. Its body was phenomenally huge and it had three identical heads and a pair of powerful wings. "I've searched most of my life to find this dragon and at last I have seen the beast that gives these mountains its name: The Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba exclaimed. The dragon let out another tremendous roar and let loose from its three heads another storm of white lightning at the Mechanical Chasers, obliterating even more of the flying machinations. "Incredible!" Zapto exclaimed. "This can't be! I thought the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon was just a myth!" Noah shouted in disbelief. "It's very possible, Noah. I've known the legends to be true since I was just a child. I used to dream of controlling this dragon, but I could never find it. And now, in our hour of need, it has appeared! Now come to me, Blue Eyes!" Kaiba commanded as he held up the trading card he wore around his neck.

The card began to glow and the Ultimate Dragon flew to the airspace above the heroes. It lowered its body and allowed Kaiba to jump on its back. "Now my Ultimate Dragon, destroy his Mechanical Chasers!" The Ultimate Dragon roared again and blasted more white lightning from its three mouths. Almost instantly, the flying machines were destroyed in a flash of pure power. "Now attack Noah's Barrel Dragon! End this madness!" Kaiba yelled once again and the dragon charged up a more powerful blast in its mouths. "It doesn't end this easily!" Noah shouted as he charged his dragon's cannons in preparation for a counterattack. At the same time, the two dragons released their respective beams and everyone watched as they collided in midair. But Kaiba's dragon was much more powerful and overpowered the Barrel Dragon's attack and ripped a hole right through the metal armor of Noah's most powerful machine.

"This can't be! I can't lose like this!" Noah shouted inside the Barrel Dragon. "Now do you see Noah, our big brother is stronger than you. But not because he's older, it's because he has something you don't." Mokuba told Noah. "Oh and what is that?" Noah asked his younger brother. "Friends." Mokuba replied as the Barrel Dragon began to explode from the inside out. "Who needs friends?" Noah snapped.

Back on the outside, Kaiba and his Ultimate Dragon landed next to the rest of the heroes. "Nice work, Kaiba!" Zapto shouted. "Yea, real slick!" Billy exclaimed. "Thanks, but I think we're not quite done yet." Kaiba said as he pointed to the Barrel Dragon that was now falling apart. Already, the two side cannons had fallen off and the body was crumbling to the ground as well. "Now do you get it, Noah? You can't beat us, now come out here and face us!" Kaiba called to the burning Barrel Dragon. The head of the Dragon, which had just hit the ground, opened up and Noah and Mokuba walked out.

"Mokuba, are you alright?!" Kaiba asked as he ran towards his brothers. "Better now that I'm with my true brother." Mokuba said. "What? What's going on Mokuba?" "I've found Noah respects me more anyway, so I'm on his side now." Mokuba told him. His eyes were much glossier and he looked very out of it. "What have you done to him Noah?!" Kaiba asked him. "A ha ha! Nothing that you didn't have coming to you anyway. Mokuba just realized that he's better off on my side than yours." Noah replied. "Mokuba, snap out of it!" Kaiba said as he shook Mokuba. "You can't 'snap him out of it', Kaiba. Just accept that I'm a better brother than you."

"Mokuba, remember all that we've been through. I brought you to the palace with me after I gained my position there. We were a team! Remember when you were a kid and you dreamed of flying away from our father's house on the back of the Ultimate Dragon. Well, now I've found it! Just take a look." And Kaiba stepped aside to allow Mokuba to look directly into the face of the Ultimate Dragon. "It came to me and you to save us from the evil that has taken over this planet. Look at it Mokuba!" Mokuba stared directly into the eyes of the Dragon and the Dragon stared into the eyes of Mokuba. Then Mokuba's trading card necklace began to glow and a bright flash surrounded the area. When the bright light was gone, the Ultimate Dragon was gone and Mokuba looked normal again. "Mokuba, are you okay?" Kaiba asked. "Of course, big brother! Did something happen to me?" Mokuba asked. "Nothing unusual." Kaiba replied.

"All this time… I didn't see it…" Noah whispered. Zapto and company walked over to where the Kaiba brothers were. "What did you say, Noah?" Sabrina asked. "All I wanted was power. I was blinded by it. My father, I guess he really did care. My brothers… I never realized our bond." Noah said softly as he felt something new that was hanging around his neck. It was another trading card necklace, exactly like the ones his brothers had. But printed on it was an image of a pure white dragon with blue eyes. It did not have three heads like the Ultimate Dragon, it only had one head, but it still looked almost exactly like it. Kaiba looked at it in shock and felt the card around his own neck. An exact duplicate of the dragon was on his necklace as well. Mokuba felt his neck, and found the same Blue Eyes White Dragon was on his card as well. "I guess we really are all equal. I'm sorry I caused you all so much pain. Farewell, my brothers…" Noah said and then he vanished from their sight. "Noah… We won't forget you." Mokuba said.

"He must have used his new psychic abilities to teleport away from here." Espa Roba suggested. "Should we try to find him?" Robin asked. "No, I think he learned a valuable lesson and won't bother us again." Zapto said. They all stood there in silence for a moment when Blackfire remembered something. "Wait a moment! Doesn't Noah still have your Lightning Sword?" She asked Zapto. "I think I know where it might be." Zapto said as he walked into the rubble of the Barrel Dragon. He was in there for a few moments when he came out with a sword in his hands. "At last I have reclaimed my Lightning Sword!" Zapto exclaimed as he held it up to the sky. But suddenly, the Sword began to glow and a bright flash enveloped the area. "It's a vision. The Sword is trying to tell you something." Sabrina told them. "Let us see what it has to say."


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24- The Quest Carries On

From the yellow jewel on the hilt of Zapto's Lightning Sword, a kind of projection emerged from within. It showed a fiery landscape that was covered with volcanoes and molten rock. "Moltro," Zapto whispered. "Who?" Blackfire asked him. "Moltro is my brother. He controls a planet of fire." Then the landscape changed to show a single mountain with a large castle on the top. Flying around the castle were beings that looked human shape in appearance, but they were clothed in all black and had dark wings. Their eyes were no more than a red V on their long faces. "That's Moltro's palace, I'm sure of it." Zapto said. But then the scene changed again to show what appeared to be a mine for some kind of precious rock or mineral. All around the scene, people were digging at the ground with picks and shovels. On a higher ledge than the workers was a young man with a dark blue outfit and a long navy blue cape. He wore equally as dark blue sunglasses and had dark blue spiked hair. But more important than his appearance was the long whip he held in his hand. He was striking at the workers, apparently commanding them to work harder.

"This is horrible!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Yes it is. I know that my brother's planet is a big source of precious metals and minerals, but it appears as though the general took control of the mining facilities and my brother's palace." Zapto said. "Do you think the guy with the whip is the general?" Billy asked. "I don't think we can be sure of who is who, not after what happened with Jinzo." Kaiba replied. "You have a point, Kaiba." Espa Roba said. "Well we do know one thing: we have to go to that planet and free them too." Starfire said. "You're right. But my ship was destroyed when we were trying to land on this planet. Kaiba, do you have a ship that we could use?" Zapto asked him. "No, every ship was destroyed when Vaati took over. But Espa Roba must have a ship that he used to get here. Do you have a ship we could use, Espa?" Kaiba asked him. "Unfortunately, my ship was also attacked as I tried to gain entrance into the atmosphere of this planet. I really don't know how we can get off the planet." Espa Roba replied in despair.

Suddenly and perfectly timed, a load roar of engines sounded across the mountains and a space ship came flying down from the sky. The ship was relatively flat, but still had some bulk to it. It was pointed at the end, and had semi large engines in the back. Written on the side of the ship was its name, _The Motor Falcon_. The ship landed in a flat area in the mountains within vision of the heroes. "Let's go see who that is? Whoever owns that ship might be able to help us." Blackfire suggested. "Yea, let's go check it out!" Billy exclaimed as the heroes began walking towards the unknown ship. The door opened on the side of the ship and a ramp came out. From inside the ship, a young man came walking out. He had a full head of brown hair that almost stood up on end and dark blue eyes. He wore a red shirt and black pants and had protective shoulder and elbow pads that made him look like he had been riding a motorcycle. He also had a pair of goggles in his high hair that added to the motorcycle rider effect. "Cheerio mates!" The young man said in greeting to the party of heroes. When he spoke, he spoke with an Australian accent. "Hey there, sir!" Tiffany shouted to the young man. "What's your name?" She asked.

"Name's Valon. I'm here looking for some blokes by the names of Robin and Starfire. Are they in your little group here?" He asked them. "Yea, that's us." Robin replied. "Is everything okay?" He then asked Valon. "As far as I know it is. I was sent as a messenger from the planet Tamaran to bring you two there. Galforg is back in power now, but apparently this time he's good. However the people are confused and won't listen to him or any of the current authority. That's where you blokes come in. Thramn told me to bring you two so called heroes to restore order to the planet." "Alright, Valon. We'll go with you. But do you think you can help us out afterwards?" Robin replied. "Well what seems to be the problem?" Valon asked. Robin and Zapto then explained the situation to Valon. "So ya need a ride off this planet, hunh? I'll tell you what, I'll contact me friend Alister and have him fly Robin and Starfire to Tamaran and then I'll help the rest of you blokes save the universe. Sound good?" The heroes thought and conversed for a minute and then told Valon their decision.

"Yea, sounds good to us." Zapto told him. "Well alright then, I'll go call my mate Alister!" Valon said and then ran back into his ship. A few minutes later, he came walking down the ramp with a smile on his face. "Alister said that he would help us out. He'll be here in a few minutes." Valon told the group. While they waited the heroes reached a decision about who would go on to save the next planet. They decided that only Zapto, Blackfire, and Valon should go on because the current planet still needed rebuilding after the anarchy that Jinzo and Noah caused. "Alright Zapto, good luck on liberating Moltro's planet. Don't screw anything up." Kaiba said as he walked off towards the city with Mokuba. "See you guys later. Rock on!" Billy and the rest of the Quads exclaimed as they also walked off following Kaiba. "May all the gods of the universe be with you." Sabrina softly said as she walked off as well. "I'll take good care of the planet for you, Zapto. Take care!" Espa Roba told him as he followed the rest of the former resistance towards the city. By the time everyone said their farewells, a new star ship had entered the area. It looked similar to Valon's, however it had two different words painted on the side: _The Rocket Ziggurat_.

The ship landed near Valon's ship and the ramp touched the ground. The young man who walked off the ship had crimson red hair and wore a gray shirt with black pants. He also wore a black trench coat with various gray straps on it. His eyes were the same gray color as his shirt. "The name's Alister. I hear some of you need a ride?" Alister said to the four remaining heroes. Robin and Starfire introduced themselves and then got aboard Alister's ship and set off for Tamaran. "I guess we're ready to shove off too, right?" Valon asked Zapto and Blackfire. "That's right. It's time to free one of my brothers. Let's go." Zapto said as the three of them boarded Valon's ship and headed for the planet of fire.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25- Into the Inferno

"Get ready, mates. We're almost there." Valon called from the loudspeaker in the cockpit. Zapto and Blackfire were sitting in a lounge in the ship while Valon steered his ship to the planet of fire. "My brother and I were pretty close; almost as close as Kaiba and Mokuba are." Zapto told Blackfire. "It must be hard for you to see your brother imprisoned then. And not just your one brother Moltro, but your other two siblings as well." Blackfire replied. "Yea, it's hard. But I know with you at my side and all my other friends too, we can save them and stop Vaati's evil plan." Zapto said. "Thanks Zapto." Blackfire said to him as she reached for his hand. They looked at each other and smiled, but they were interrupted by a voice on the loudspeaker. "Sorry to break up such a touching moment, but you chaps might wanna come up here and see this." Valon said to them. "Let's go." Zapto said with confidence in his voice.

When Zapto and Blackfire reached the bridge, they saw Valon sitting looking at the screen. "Check it out." He told them as he pointed to the screen. Outside the ship was a semi-large red planet. It looked almost as if it were on fire. "That's Moltro's planet alright." Zapto told the other two. "Ay, but that's not what worries me. That is." Valon said as he pointed to a metal point on the corner of the screen. The point got bigger and soon a familiar starship was completely visible on the screen. "It's Metal Sonica's ship!" Blackfire exclaimed. Suddenly the outside screen vanished and a new transmission came through. On the screen was now the metallic face of Vaati's second-in-command. "We meet again. Though I must admit, I didn't expect to see you alive again." Metal Sonica said to them. "And just what do you want?" Valon asked the metal hedgehog. "What's this? A new face? Well then I'll just have to introduce you to my master's power. Open fire!" Metal Sonica exclaimed and then ended the transmission. The outside screen came back online to reveal that the_ Metal Super Sonica _was facing their ship with its cannons armed.

"Get ready Valon, that guy's named Metal Sonica he works for Vaati. We encountered him on our entrance to my planet, but he shot us down before we even scratched his ship." Zapto told him. "Well then it's a good thing I just tricked out my ride. It's time to see what this baby can do!" Valon exclaimed confidently as he shifted the engines into high gear, primed the cannons, and prepared for an epic space battle.

Meanwhile…

Robin and Starfire were also sitting in a similar lounge aboard Alister's ship. "I hope everything is alright on Tamaran." Starfire said to Robin. "I'm sure everything's fine. The people are just a little confused. And after everything that happened there, I don't blame them." Robin replied as they thought of all the past events that took place on Starfire's home planet. Robin reached for Starfire's hand and they smiled at each other. But the emotional moment was suddenly broken by the sudden flickering of the lights. "Is everything okay up there, Alister?" Robin called to the front of the ship. Then all of a sudden the lights went completely out and a voice came on over the loudspeaker. "Sorry for the inconvenience, but we may have to make a surprise stop on a different planet." Alister said mockingly to them. Just then, four mechanical arms came out of the seats and bounded Robin and Starfire's arms to the seat. Four other arms also came out of the wall and bound their feet to their positions. "What's going on?!" Robin asked. "Nothing to be concerned about. Just sit back and enjoy the ride!" Alister called as evil laughter surrounded the ship.

Back above the fire plant…

"Get ready mates! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Valon shouted as he charged his engines and headed directly towards Metal Sonica's ship. "Are you going to attack it head on?" Blackfire asked the obviously experienced Valon. "That's right. The only way to make it to the planet is to hit this enemy head on." Valon replied. As the heroes' ship was going in for its mad charge, the enemy ship began a steady storm of blaster fire. However Valon was able to expertly dodge most of the blows. "Ready the proton torpedoes and… fire!" Valon shouted as two charges of proton energy were let loose from the inside of the ship. They hit their mark and some of the enemy blaster were put offline. But Metal Sonica was not ready to give up just yet. Just as he had done before, his ship charged two more blue ion charges and shot them at Valon's ship. "Oh no! Those ion cannons can disable all control of our ship!" Zapto yelled. "Not to worry." Valon replied confidently as he tilted his ship one hundred and eighty degrees and flew right in between the two charges.

"Now let's end this." Valon said as he shot two more proton torpedoes from his ship. These blasts hit an even better mark than the first two and ripped apart a vital engine on the ship. "Alright! Now we're home free!" Valon shouted in victory as Metal Sonica's ship began to flare in the areas the proton torpedoes hit. "Then let's free a planet!" Zapto exclaimed as Valon's ship headed directly towards the surface of the planet.

Aboard Metal Sonica's ship…

"Sir, the enemy has knocked out our rear thrusters." A common ship officer said to the commander of the ship. "What?! He's a smart kid for all he's worth. Alright damage report!" Metal Sonica commanded. "We're going to have to land on the surface for repairs. We should be at full engine capabilities within a few hours after repairs begin." The officer told him. "Very good, proceed to the surface. You'll pay, Zapto. After we repair this ship, you'll pay." Metal Sonica said as his ship struggled to also land on the surface of the fire planet.


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26- Shadows in the Village

The dark red clouds opened up as Valon's starship came ripping through the atmosphere. It landed in the middle of an uninhabited area of the volcanic planet. The ramp came down and Zapto, Blackfire, and Valon stepped out into the hot environment. "Well here we are. The question is: where is here?" Valon asked, partially to himself. "I've only visited my brother's planet a few times and I've never gone further than the capital city and his palace." Zapto told them. The heroes looked around at the landscape that now surrounded them. The ground was composed of molten rock and the sky was eternally red. "Where do we go from here?" Blackfire asked the other two. "I guess we should just start walking and hope to find something." Valon suggested. "I don't think we have much of a choice…" Blackfire trailed off as the party of three heroes began walking.

All across their hike, the scenery never changed. The same volcanic milieu composed the entire planet. It wasn't long before the heroes were thirsty and exhausted. "It's so hot!" Zapto exclaimed. "I know. We need to find some water soon…" Blackfire said. "Oy look mates!" Valon exclaimed as he pointed to the distance. "It looks like some kind of village!" Zapto and Blackfire ran to look where Valon was pointing too and saw the same thing. They were on top of a small hill, and underneath them was a small village made of medium sized stone huts. "We're saved mates! Let's go!" Valon shouted as Zapto, Blackfire, and him all started running towards the village. When they got to an even plane at the village entrance, a teenage girl stepped out from behind one of the first stone huts. She had short light brown hair and wore a pink shirt and tan pants. Her eyes sparkled with an unparalleled compassion and she wore a small, silver whistle around her neck.

"Please don't come any closer!" She called to the heroes in a cute voice. "Why, what's the matter?" Blackfire asked, but she soon got her answer. From seemingly nowhere, three shadows formed on the ground. The teenage girl squeaked and then ran off. "Wait! What's a going on?" Valon asked to the fleeing girl. But she was long gone when the shadows began to rise up from the ground and take on a physical form. The new beings were completely black except for their eyes which were no more than a red V. They had four spider-like legs and two long tentacles for arms. One of them made a strange gurgling noise and thrust its tentacle directly at Valon. "Watch out!" Zapto shouted as Valon jumped up to dodge the attack. The other two shadow beings sprang into action and tried to whip the other two heroes with their tentacles. This time Zapto unsheathed his Lightning Sword and slashed at the fiend's tentacle, cutting it off. It flopped around for a minute, and then disappeared. Blackfire also went into battle pose and threw some energy bolts at the third fiend, temporarily stunning it. She then flew full charge at it and ripped right through it with her energy bolts. The fiend let out another gurgling noise and then disappeared.

"Attack them head on!" Blackfire commanded the two male heroes and Zapto ran full speed at the second, wounded fiend and slashed through its body, making it disappear. "It's your turn now Valon!" Zapto called to him. Valon was still struggling to attack his fiend with his hands, when he produced a scything blade from his left elbow pad. He spun around and slashed the fiend with the curved blade. It disappeared and the battle was won. "Glad that's over." Valon said panting as he retracted his blade back into his elbow pad. "But what were those things?" Zapto asked. "You saved us!" A semi-familiar voice shouted as the teenage girl came running back out to meet the heroes. "And just who are you?" Valon asked the girl.

"My name's Kari. I live here in this village. Those Shadowkahn were coming to raid our village again, but you stopped them. Thank you very much!" She replied. "Wait, you know those shadow beings?" Zapto asked her. "Yes, I know them. They come to our village all the time to gather people to work in the mines…" Kari said as her voice trailed off. "It's not safe here. Follow me. I'll lead you to my grandfather's house. There we can talk in safety." She told them as she began walking deeper into the village. Zapto, Blackfire, and Valon decided that it would be safe enough and it would be good to gain an ally on this plant. Close to the center of the village was a stone house that was slightly bigger than the others. "Right here, follow me inside." Kari commanded the heroes when the four reached the larger stone house.

"Grandpa! We have visitors!" Kari called to the inside of the house. "Hmm, visitors you say? Who could possibly we visiting us during these times?" An old man said as he walked into the entry room of the house. He wore a red and blue suit with a rather large black belt. Though he had lost most of his hair long ago, he still had some white hairs drawn into a Chinese ponytail in the back. "Ah hello, you three. I guess we do have some new faces around here after all. Come in, come in." The old man invited them inside. They stepped into a large room with only a stone table in the middle. The old man and Kari sat down on the floor and they invited the three heroes to do the same. "Now what brings you to this far off village?" The old man asked. "Well, it's a bit of a long story." Zapto began. "Well we have time. It's safe here in this house. Let us tell our tales to each other now." The old man replied. "Alright." Zapto said. "I'll begin…"


	28. Chapter 27

Chapter 27- A Story of Fire and Darkness

"And that's our quest." Zapto finished telling the old man and Kari about their recent adventures. Kari looked troubled, but the old man just stared at them in amazement. "That's quite a story!" He exclaimed. "We're no great fans of Vaati either, after what he did to this planet." The old man then told them. "What exactly happened here on this planet anyway? And what were those shadow monsters?" Blackfire asked. "Oh, I see you've met the Shadowkahn. Well since you seem friendly enough, I'll tell you the story of this planet." The old man began.

"My name's Gennai by the way. You see, I was the elder of this village. The leader if you will. It was pretty peaceful around here. There are some nearby mines that we got our metals out of and life went on. Until one day when I was going for a stroll around the area, and I saw a nearby volcano erupting. I was a bit worried because I have heard legends of a powerful dragon being sealed in that same volcano. I wasn't quite sure of what to do, so I decided to go investigate the area. When I got there, there were these black shadow creatures crawling out of the top of the volcano. I had never seen anything like them before. They were like pure in evil in a physical form. But that wasn't the worst part. Then a large dragon-like monster also started climbing out of the top. When it was all the way out, I saw the most incredible beast I had ever seen in my life. It stood on two legs and had two arms with draconic claws at the end. It had piercing red eyes and a long spiked face."

"Luckily, I had hid behind a rather large rock so the demons couldn't see me. I ran home as quickly as I could. My grandchildren were very worried about me after I told them all that I had seen. Actually Tai wanted to go and fight…" Gennai's voice trailed off as Kari started crying. "Oh Tai!" She cried. "Wait, who's this Tai chap?" Valon asked. Kari stopped crying for a moment enough to tell them the answer. "Tai is my brother. He was taken by the Shadowkahn and the Emperor." Kari sniffled. "Just who are these Shadowkahn? Are they the dark creatures you saw by the volcano? And who is the Emperor?" Zapto asked them.

"Ah yes, that's the second part to my story." Gennai continued. "You see not long after I got home, in fact it was a few days later, this new fellow came riding into the village. He wore this dark blue outfit and wore this split navy blue cape. He did have cool blue spiked hair though. And awesome dark blue sunglasses too." "That's the person we saw with the whip in the vision!" Blackfire exclaimed. "You're right, he did have a whip! And he had those shadow creatures carrying him around on this throne. Pretty self-centered of him if you ask me. He calls himself the Emperor and can control those shadow creatures."

"Those are who the Shadowkahn are by the way. They are the direct servants of that dragon demon too. Anyway, when the Emperor came riding into town, he brought with him an entourage of those Shadowkahn with him. He cracked his whip in the air and demanded that all physically able men come with him to work in the mines. You see, this planet is known for its metal and precious stone mining. I'm sure Vaati knew this when he took over. Anyway, my grandson Tai rushed out to confront the Emperor saying that he had no right to force people to work in the mines. Then the Emperor told us that Vaati had taken over this planet and that now everyone on it will be his slaves. Needless to say, Tai and the other men objected to this, but the Emperor still had a small army of Shadowkahn on his side. They fought well, but the Shadowkahn overpowered them and dragged them away to the mines. We haven't seen any of them since." Gennai finished.

"But I saw how you fought off the Shadowkahn at the entrance of the village! I know you can help us saw my brother, right?" Kari asked. The three heroes looked at each other and came to an automatic decision. "Of course we'll help you." Blackfire told her. "If we can save those men and defeat this Emperor chap, then maybe we'll have some clues to help us defeat Vaati." Valon said. "Then it's settled." Zapto affirmed. "Gennai, can you show us where the mines are?" He then asked. "Of course! Actually, I know of a secret way into the mines that not many other people know of. I was quite a strong worker back in my day." Gennai replied. "I'm coming too!" Kari said. "No, Kari. Stay here. I can't bear to lose two grandchildren. And it's not safe anyway. We'll come back in a little while to let you know we're okay." Gennai told her. "Then let's move out!" Zapto exclaimed as the four heroes exited the house and began walking on towards the wilderness.


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter 28- Injury in the Tunnel

The party of Zapto, Blackfire, Valon, and Gennai kept walking across the fiery plains until they reached the side of a small hill. "Why'd we stop?" Valon asked the old man. "Because it is here that the secret entrance to the mines is. Very few people know about it, so we should be safe from any guards." Gennai replied semi-confidently. "However, this Emperor guy may be egotistical, but he's also very smart. So I wouldn't assume anything." He added as he pushed against a large boulder on the side of the hill. "Can you youngsters give me a hand with this? I'm not getting any younger you know." Gennai asked. "Of course mate!" Valon replied as he also pushed against the boulder. Soon Zapto and Blackfire joined in and the boulder was quickly moved to reveal a small hole in the ground.

"This tunnel leads to a secret room in the back of the mines. Follow me." The old man Gennai told them as he began crawling into the subterranean tunnel. Zapto jumped in after him to reveal a dimly lit earthen hallway. There were a few weak lights strung across the sides that gave the tunnel an eerie, lonely feeling. Blackfire soon entered the tunnel behind Gennai and Zapto, and Valon soon followed as well. "My grandson was a strong leader down here, you know." Gennai told the three as he began shuffling down the corridor. "Our mine was one of the most famous across the planet. Until this evil came and took over." He then finished.

"I do have one question, Gennai. Do you have a plan for defeating the Emperor?" Zapto asked the old man. "Not a clue. I thought you young 'uns would have thought of something by now." Gennai replied. "Well that's great!" Valon exclaimed sarcastically. "We'll just have to do things the old fashioned way then: we'll wing it!" Blackfire said confidently. The party continued through the tunnel for quite a good amount of time until they reached a dead end. "This is where we head up." Gennai told the three heroes. They all looked up to see a small circular impression in the rock. "All we have to do is push that manhole up and climb out into the secret room. We should all be able to get up there safely." Gennai instructed them.

"I'll go first." Zapto volunteered as he jumped up to knock the manhole aside. However, he came a little ways short of shifting it aside. "Allow me." Blackfire offered as she flew up and pushed the stone away. She disappeared on the other side and then held her hand out to allow Zapto to climb through as well. He grabbed her hand and she pulled him up. "Alright, Gennai, your turn." Valon told the old man and Gennai hopped onto his shoulders to lift him up. "Oi! You're pretty heavy for an old guy. Argh!" Valon exclaimed as he lost his footing and him and Gennai came crashing down. "Is everything alright down there?" Zapto called as Valon stood up and brushed himself off. "I'm alright but…" Valon trailed off and Gennai interrupted him. "No everything is not alright!" Gennai called back as he struggled to get up. He got half up, but then fell again in pain as he held his leg. "I think my leg is broken. This is what I get for being so active at my age." Gennai said as Zapto and Blackfire hopped down to offer the old man their assistance.

"I'm so sorry, mate!" Valon apologized. "Is there anything we can do to help you?" Blackfire asked the injured old man. "Ah, I don't think so." Gennai replied as he winced in pain. "Please, just leave me here. I would just slow you down." "We can't do that, Gennai. You might get hurt down here." Zapto told him. "Oh don't you worry about me. This tunnel is very secret. I'm sure nobody will find me down here." Gennai reassured them. "Are you very sure, mate?" Valon asked the old man once again. "Most positive! Now please stop wasting time. Go on ahead and stop the Emperor!" Gennai commanded of them. "All right, whatever you say." Valon replied. "Let's go, then." Blackfire said calmly. The remaining three heroes then climbed up the hole into the secret entrance to the mines.

When all three were safely in the room, they took a quick look around to survey the area. The room was a simple stone, square room with a one metal door leading outside of the room. Zapto reached for the doorknob and slowly opened the heavy metal door. Inside the next room was what appeared to be a somewhat large storage room. The lighting was dim, but they could clearly see many large crates. "This must be a storage room for the metals discovered in the mine." Blackfire whispered to Zapto and Valon as she closed the secret door from which they came. Zapto was about to say something, but his thought was interrupted by the opening of another door on the opposite side of the room. "Quick hide." Zapto quietly commanded the other two. A bit more light streamed in and a somewhat familiar figure stepped into the room. As Zapto, Blackfire, and Valon watching in horror and surprise, the Emperor laughed fiendishly at the hoard of metals in front of him.


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter 29- Telecommunications

"So this is the multitude of precious metals and stones we've been mining at this facility?" The Emperor asked a second young man standing near him. He was dressed in a kind of metal suit with a clear visor over the eyes of his helmet and a small horn on the tip of his head. The suit was silver colored and only allowed the man's nose and mouth area to be visible. "Yes sir, these are all of the metals that we have gathered." The man told the Emperor as he adjusted the small blue bandana around his neck. "Excellent, Skrub, you have served me well. Very well indeed. These metals and stones will be much appreciated by Master Shendu." The Emperor said as he looked over the hundred or so crates that filled the room. "What would you like me to do with it, sir?" The man apparently named Skrub asked his apparent master. The Emperor thought for a moment and then answered him. "Transport it all to Facility 01. All of it, understand? Use the Shadowkahn if you have to." "Yes, sir. Just give me a moment to gather some of the Shadowkahn and I'll begin transport." Skrub replied as he saluted the Emperor. The Emperor turned to leave, but then stopped and turned his head. "Oh and Skrub." He said to him. "Yes sir?" "Take care of the intruders that have just snuck into this room." The Emperor said with a glint in his sunglasses. Then he continued out of the room. "Intruders? There's no one in this room." Skrub said to himself. And then he turned and walked out of the room.

As the Emperor and his assistant Skrub finished their conversation and exited the room, Zapto, Blackfire, and Valon we unsure of what they just overheard. "I didn't think we'd run into the Emperor just yet." Valon stated. "I think the more important question is who is this Master Shendu that the Emperor works for?" Blackfire stated. "I think the most important question right now is how he knew that we're here? There's no way he could have seen us." Zapto stated. The three pondered it for a moment and then Valon stood up. "I say it doesn't matter. I think what's really the most important thing now is how we can stop him." Zapto then also stood up and said, "You're right, Valon. We need a good plan." Blackfire then stood up and suggested, "We already know that Skrub is coming back in here to transport the metals. I say we stay here and ambush him when he comes." "But he's also bringing who knows how many Shadowkahn with him. Probably more since the Emperor apparently knows we're here." Valon countered. "I think we can take them. We've already beaten three of them pretty easily." Zapto said. "Then it's settled, we wait here for a surprise attack." Blackfire finalized as she sat down in hiding again. The other two followed suit and waiting for the impending ambush.

Meanwhile, on another side of the mine…

The sliding automatic door closed in the central control room of the mining facility as the Emperor entered the important room. The room was circular in shape and had a large computer up against the far wall. Like every other room in the mines, it was made out of the stone of the earth around it. The Emperor walked over to the large chair in front of the screen and sat down. Grinning darkly and laughing evilly to himself, he hit a few buttons on the computer and a dark shadow appeared on the screen. It was completely black and piercing red eyes and was in the relative shape of a dragon. "Master Shendu, we have gathered enough metals for your complete revival. We are shipping them out as we speak." The Emperor said to the face on the screen. "Excccellent." The dragon face said in a snake-like voice. "You have ssserved me well, Ken. Keep a secure eye on the minesss and come to my palace when I sssummon you." "Yes, Master." The Emperor replied as the transmission ended and the screen went blank. The Emperor sat in his chair staring at the floor for a moment in thought. "I'm not Ken. Nobody calls me Ken." He whispered to himself.

He was about to stand up when the screen blipped to life. The face that appeared on the screen was quite familiar to the Emperor and even the three heroes. "This had better be good, Metal Sonica." The Emperor told the metallic face. "I don't like asking for help, especially from humans, but I need some spare parts from the metal in your mines." Metal Sonica told him. "And dare I ask why? Do you need a new processor for your brain?" He laughed mockingly. "No, you imbecile!" Metal Sonica shot back. "I need some parts to repair my ship with." "And how pray tell did you damage your ship?" "It's none of your concern, but it was just a minor fluke in a space battle. So I need those parts! I'll be there to pick them up in a few hours." He finished and ended the transmission. The Emperor sat back in his chair. "That fool, Metal Sonica. Nobody calls me an imbecile. He will just have to pay for that." He laughed to himself.

"But for now, there are more important matters to attend to." He thought out loud and hit a few more buttons on his computer. Not long after that, a voice came from one of the speakers on the computer's control panel. "Admin Skrub reporting. What is it, master?" Skrub asked. "Skrub, have you gathered enough Shadowkhan to transport the metals?" The Emperor asked his second-in-command. "Yes sir, we are heading to the storage room now. Is there a problem?" "Why yes, there has been a slight change of plans. Go back and gather a squad of Darknuts and enter the storage area using Procedure 8." There was silence for a moment and then Skrub spoke again. "Why, sir? The Darknuts are reserved for conquest and missions that require a lot of brute force. So why use them to transport a few crates of metals, especially using Procedure 8? I don't quite understand." "You're a smart man, Skrub. Just do as you're told and prepare for an ambush." The Emperor finished telling him.


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter 30- The Ambush Ambushed

The door creaked open at the entrance to the storage room while Zapto, Blackfire, and Valon got into battle poses to fight the impending movement of Skrub and his Shadowkahn. Zapto pulled out his Lightning Sword, Blackfire charged up a starbolt in each of her hands, and Valon slipped out the blades he kept in the elbow pads in his arms. While they still hid behind the large crate, they kept an eye and an arm ready for the upcoming battle. They expected Skrub to coming walking in with his group of Shadowkahn following, but the reality of their entrance was slightly different. Instead, three Shadowkahn walked in and surveyed the area. "Nothing to be alarmed about. Let's attack now!" Valon strongly suggested. Zapto and Blackfire nodded and then jumped out from behind the crate.

The three Shadowkahn adverted their glances towards the heroes and then they faded into the ground and their shadows slipped away. The three heroes hit the ground and then looked around in confusion. "What happened? Why did they flee?" Blackfire asked the other two who were just as clueless as she was. "I don't know…" Zapto began, but then his voice trailed off. "Look out!" He shouted as a massive sword came crashing down right near them. The three jumped out of the way and then looked to see where the attack came from. When they looked to the entrance door, they saw a huge, hulking knight holding an incredibly large razor-like sword. The knight was completely covered from head to toe in a grayish armor and he wore a horned Viking-like helmet. Around his waist was a belt with a large, dark yellow belt buckle that bore the image of an abstract black bird. The knight grunted as he pulled his two-handed sword out of the ground.

"What kind of enemy is that?" Zapto asked. "Wha ha ha! I see you've met our Darknuts." The voice of Skrub said as he walked into the room escorted by two more of the hulking knights. "You're Skrub right?" Blackfire asked him. "That's right, the one and only." Skrub said in reply. "And sorry to say, but I'm the last person you'll ever see alive. Get them, Darknuts!" He then commanded as he pointed at the heroes. As he ran back to the entrance of the room to safely watch the fight, the three Darknuts ran ahead to face the three heroes in battle. Readying their weapons once again, the three heroes physically and mentally prepared to face the Darknuts in battle. To make everything fair, each one of the heroes battled each one of the Darknuts.

The first Darknut swung its sword down to hit Zapto, who sidestepped and took a jab at the knight's chest. The blow didn't seem to affect the knight, who pulled his sword up once again and slammed it at Zapto, sending him flying across the room and hitting a wall. "These guys are tough." Zapto grunted to himself. Blackfire took a chance against her enemy and rapidly threw starbolts at the Darknut. He didn't seem affected by it and swung his sword sideways, knocking Blackfire against the wall where Zapto was. "How do we beat these guys?" She asked no one in particular. "Alright now, I can't lose like those other blokes." Valon said as he charged the Darknut with his twin blades. The knight threw his blade down to hit Valon, but Valon blocked the assault and threw an uppercut blow to the head with one of his blades. The slash cracked his helmet and the Darknut went staggering back.

"Hey mates! I think I found their weakness. Attack their helmets!" Valon called to the other two heroes. Zapto and Blackfire looked at each other and then got to their feet again. Charging towards his knightly opponent, Zapto raised his sword to go for a head blow, but the Darknut blocked the attack with his mighty blade. Seeing that he was at a standstill, Zapto wrapped around the blade and struck the knight in the head, shattering his helmet. The newly revealed head of the knight looked almost dog-like, but with distinct human features. The Darknut grunted and went staggering back. "Valon's right! Blackfire, attack!" Zapto shouted to Blackfire as she went in for her assault. She flew towards the knight, throwing starbolts on her way, but they just bounced off the knight's heavy armor. As the Darknut swung his sword down to hit her in midair, Blackfire quickly flew to the side and hit the Darknut in the back. Incidentally, the Darknut had ropes in the back that held his armor to his massive body. When the starbolts hit the ropes, they broke and the Darknut's armor fell off of him and onto the floor. "I think I just found another weakness in these guys' armor. Hit their backs to knock off their armor!" Blackfire told them and she blasted her Darknut's helmet off. Zapto and Valon nodded at each other and then did a rolling parry attack at each of their respective Darknuts and knocked both of their armors off. "Here's our chance! Strike now!" Zapto commanded as he charged up and shot a lightning blast from his hand. Blackfire also charged up and shot a larger starbolt. Valon turned his blades around and shot two blasts from the tips of them towards the Darknuts. All three attacks hit their marks and the Darknuts fell to the ground and disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

"Oh yes! We beat the Darknuts!" Blackfire exclaimed. But their victory was short lived as three black tentacles shot out from seemingly nowhere and knocked all three heroes to the ground. "W-what happened?" Zapto asked. "Wa ha ha! Do you honestly think I would underestimate you that much?" Skrub asked the fallen heroes. "You see, while you were fighting the Darknuts, my Shadowkahn snuck up behind you and whapped you!" Skrub explained with some enthusiasm. "Shadowkahn, take them away!" He then commanded. "No, s-stop." Zapto said faintly right before the three lost consciousness.


	32. Chapter 31

Chapter 31- A Fellow Captive

"Ugh, what happened?" Zapto asked no one in particular as his eyes flickered open. He shook his head and then looked around to see where he was. The room he was in was small and simple. There were no windows amongst the stone walls, but one wall was a barrier of prison bars. It was obvious that they had been knocked out by Skrub and his Shadowkahn and captured. Next to Zapto were Valon and Blackfire who were also just coming around. "Ah, what just happened to us?" Blackfire asked as she slowly regained consciousness. "Oy, I think that Skrub bloke captured us and put in here." Valon suggested as he awoke. "It would appear so." Zapto affirmed.

"Then let's blast out of here!" Valon suggested as he pulled out his blades. "Alright, it's worth a shot." Blackfire said as she prepared a starbolt in her hand. Zapto also pulled out his Lightning Sword and swung it at the metal bars that contained them. The blade hit the metal and the bars shocked Zapto and sent him sliding backwards. "Agh, the bars are charged with some kind of energy. I can't break them." He explained. "Let me give it a shot." Valon said proudly as he spun around and tried to slash the bars open with his arm blades. The shock wave from the impact on the bars sent him flying back as well. "Agh, Zapto's right. These bars are impossible to break!" Valon exclaimed. "Maybe a not quite so physical attack might set us free." Blackfire suggested as she threw two starbolts at the bars. The bolts hit the bars and immediately the blast was negated and the bars went unharmed. "I guess that didn't work." Blackfire shrugged. "So I guess we're stuck here." Zapto said.

"Then what do we do now, mates?" Valon asked the other two. "I don't know. I guess we should wait here until Skrub comes back for us." Zapto suggested. "Hold on a second. Listen." Blackfire commanded. The three quieted and listened a bit harder and they heard scurrying coming from the direction of the metal bars. They looked harder beyond the bars at the dark hallway and all of a sudden a small flame lit up. What the dim light revealed was the hallway outside the cell, which was just a simple stone hallway, and another cell adjacent to Zapto's, Blackfire's, and Valon's. The flame was coming from the other cell and in the dim light, the three heroes saw another, older man in the cell. The man appeared to middle-aged and had dark purple hair. He wore a simple white shirt that was stained with dirt and an earth colored cape. His pants were gray, with a yellow stripe going across his legs horizontally, and he wore a black belt with a gray buckle. His shoes were brown and simple and he wore gray gloves with a yellow stripe on each. He had a scruffy beard and looked like he hadn't shaved in quite a long time.

"Who goes there?" The haggard man asked angrily from across the cells. "We're being held captive here too." Zapto told the man. "Who are you?" He then asked. The man thought for a minute and then calmed down. "Ah, I guess we're in the same situation then. Sorry for being so angry to you kids. My name's Bryon." The man said. "That's okay." Blackfire forgave. The three heroes introduced themselves and told the story of how they were captured. "That's quite a story there. Sigh, my story's a little bit less exciting." Byron replied. "Well why don't you tell us how you got here?" Zapto asked. "Alright, I guess it couldn't hurt. You see, my son and I used to own these mines. We worked here every day of our lives. It was our passion and our lives. In addition to mining precious metals we even found some ancient fossils here. Life was good until one day when the Emperor came with his Shadowkahn and took over the place by force. He made my son and I slaves in our own mines, not to mention the other workers who helped us."

"I submitted to him for a while because he had the Shadowkahn and these powerful knights on his side, but just a few days ago, I reached my limit. Instead of using it to pull metals out of the ground, I raised my shovel and struck one of the Shadowkahn. I guess I caught it by surprise because it disappeared in a cloud of smoke, as if I destroyed it, but the others alarmed Skrub, the Emperor's second-in-command. On the Emperor's orders, they threw me in this prison until you guys found me." Byron finished. "So how long have you been in here?" Valon asked. Byron though for a minute and then replied, "Oh, about three days or so. Since there's no sunlight here, it's hard to judge when days pass, but I think three days sounds about right." He answered. "That's quite a long time. Have you thought of any ways of escaping?" Zapto asked. Byron shook his head. "When they threw me in here, they gave me my shovel, probably as some kind of cruel joke. Cause when I tried tunneling my way out, I found the ground was rigged with some kind of electric field a few feet under. So I think there's no real way of escaping from here." He answered. All four looked at the ground for a minute, when a new sound caught their attention.

"Footsteps. Kids, I'm gonna put this light out. Good luck." Byron said as he blew out his match. The three heroes sat down on the ground and a door opened down the hall. "All rise and pay respect! For the Emperor of these lands is in your presence!" Skrub called as he walked into the room. Not far behind him was the dark figure of the Emperor himself. He strode into the room, cape flowing behind him, and smiled fiendishly.


	33. Chapter 32

Chapter 32- The Emperor's Mocking

"You!" Byron shouted at the Emperor as he grabbed the bars of his cell. "Yes, me. And just what am I?" The Emperor replied mockingly. "You're nothing but a treacherous snake that destroys people's lives and ruins their homes!" Byron shouted back. "That is no way to talk to the Emperor!" Skrub reprimanded as he slapped Byron and sent him falling over. Zapto and his group gasped and the Emperor laughed. "Ha ha ha! Your opinions mean nothing to me!" He laughed. He then turned his head to the opposite side of the hallway and looked at the cell that contained Zapto, Blackfire, and Valon.

"And what do we have here?" The Emperor asked to no one in particular. "These are the intruders that you told me to capture, sir." Skrub answered. "I know that, you fool! It was a rhetorical question!" The Emperor shouted at Skrub. The Emperor regained his composure and then continued speaking. "Well, welcome to my little corner of the universe. You obviously know of me as the Emperor of these lands and supreme master of these mines." The Emperor said in the same mocking tone in which he almost always spoke. "You're not the master of these mines! You stole them from Byron!" Blackfire snapped. The Emperor laughed even harder than before. "I don't get what's so funny, mate." Valon said to the laughing king. The Emperor suddenly got serious again. "Why is it so funny? If you were me, who you'll obviously never be close to being, you'd be laughing too. I am the most powerful man on the planet now! I virtually have your lives in my hands! Wouldn't you laugh if you were as powerful as I am?!" The Emperor asked them.

"Not really." Zapto replied. "Oh, and why not?" The Emperor asked. "Because I'm not as power-obsessed as you are." "Or are you, Zapto?" "How do you know my name?" Zapto asked in surprise. The Emperor laughed again in the same evil tone in which he always laughs. "Zapto, the self-proclaimed master of lightning. You rule over a planet not far from here. So who are you to talk about not wanting power? You already have plenty of it." The Emperor replied. Zapto looked at the ground, thinking of a good reply. But Blackfire beat him to it. "I've known Zapto for quite a long time and he would never have the same lust for power that you would!" Blackfire countered him. "Everyone wants power, my dear Blackfire." The Emperor replied. "How do you know who I am?" Blackfire asked in astonishment. The Emperor began laughing again. "Haven't you figured it out by now? I am a genius! I know everything that is worth knowing. I even know you, Valon." He said as he pointed to the Australian hero. "Me?" Valon asked.

"Yes. I know much about you. But enough of this; let's get down to business as to why you are here." The Emperor said somewhat mockingly. "I believe it's obvious why you came to this planet: to rescue your dear brother and former ruler of this planet Moltro. Am I right?" The Emperor asked with obvious knowledge as to the answer. The heroes remained silent. "Of course I'm right. Now how you strayed into these mines, also obvious. You see, I knew about the secret entrance ever since I took these mines. I never had it sealed because I knew that someday, someone would sneak in through there. Once again I'm right." The Emperor continued. Even Skrub was shocked at this revelation. "So that's how he knew about the intruders." He thought to himself.

"But what to do with you now?" The Emperor asked himself. He thought for a brief second and then told them his answer. "For now you will stay in here. I take it you've already found out that there is no possible way to escape, so don't waste your time trying. Since you have nothing better to do, I suggest you might plot in vain against me. That would be very amusing!" The Emperor laughed. "You're twisted!" Blackfire exclaimed. "Like I said your opinions mean nothing to me. Skrub, place two Shadowkahn guards outside the door to the prison room. Even with the tight in-cell security, I don't like to take any chances." The Emperor commanded. "Yes sir!" Skrub replied with a salute. "Enjoy your stay." The Emperor laughed as him and Skrub exited the room.

"What do we do now, mates?" Valon asked the other three inmates. "I don't think there's anything we can do." Byron said hopelessly. They all looked at each other for advice and hope, except for Zapto who simply stared at the ground. "Zapto, are you alright?" Blackfire asked comfortingly. Zapto raised his head. "Yea, I'm fine. And I think I might have an idea as to how we can escape." Zapto replied. "Really?! Well then let's hear it mate!" Valon exclaimed hopefully. "Alright here it is…"

Meanwhile…

"Sir, the guards are in position." Skrub told his master as he sat in his chair in his main room. The Emperor laughed again. "Excellent." The Emperor replied. Skrub's belt rang and he pulled out his communicator from it to answer it. "Sir, it would appear that Metal Sonica has arrived." Skrub said. The Emperor stopped laughing and stood up from his chair. "I guess I'll have to deal with him sooner or later. Send him in." The Emperor ordered. The door opened almost right away and Metal Sonica hovered in with the jet pack on his metal back. "Don't worry, I let myself in." Metal Sonica said to the two. "You have the parts I take it?" He then asked the Emperor. "Skrub, go with Metal Sonica and fix his ship." The Emperor commanded. "Yes, sir." Skrub said as he and Metal Sonica left the room. "What's the matter, Ken? Can't handle me alone?" Metal Sonica taunted. The Emperor ignored him as the door closed. "I think I'll handle him sooner rather than later." The Emperor said darkly without even cracking a smile. "No one calls me Ken." He whispered to himself without any particular emotion behind it.


	34. Chapter 33

Chapter 33- Escape

Skrub and Metal Sonica were walking down the hall to the hanger where Metal Sonica's ship was kept, when Zapto finished telling his plan to Blackfire, Valon, and Byron in the prison ward. "That just might work, kid!" Byron exclaimed. "Yea, but this Emperor chap seems like a smart guy. Do ya really think he'll fall for this?" Valon asked. "It has to work. It's all we got." Zapto replied. "Alright, let's try it!" Blackfire suggested. "Alright so let me get this straight? I just throw my shovel out through the holes in the bars into the hallway, right?" Byron asked to clarify his part in the escape plan. "That's right. And then I'll shoot it down with my precise laser blasters and make it explode." Valon added. "That's right. That should call out the Shadowkahn who are guarding this prison." Blackfire contributed. "And finally we taunt them into attacking the cell. The shadow energy that they're composed of should cancel out the electric energy of the bars, allowing us to escape." Zapto finished.

"Sounds good. Here goes nothing!" Byron cried as he chucked his shovel out into the hallway. Before it even hit the ground, Valon switched around his arm blades and shot two precise and accurate beams from his blades, through the bars. They made contact with the shovel and it exploded with a bang. "Sigh, and that was my favorite shovel too." Byron said mournfully. The sound aroused the two Shadowkahn waiting in the hallway and the Shadowkahn entered the hallway with the intent of seeing what was going on. "Perfect! Come get us, mates!" Valon shouted to them as he shot two more laser beams at the Shadowkahn. The shots missed, but they did what they were supposed to. One of the Shadowkahn whipped its tentacle into the cell trying to hit the man who shot at it. The tentacle went through the holes in the bars and barely missed Valon, who dodged the assault. Zapto took this opportunity to grab the tentacle and smash it against the sides of the bars. The reaction of the electric energy to the dark energy of the Shadowkahn caused a reaction that sent sparks flying, but more importantly disabled the electric hold on the cell.

The Shadowkahn reared back in pain, but it was already too late. "Time to break free!" Blackfire shouted as she charged up two star bolts and ripped them through the bars. The remains of the metal fell to the ground and the three heroes were free. "Party time, mates!" Valon shouted as he switched his arm blades around and jumped at the first Shadowkahn who attacked him, making it disappear into nothingness. Zapto then shoved the second Shadowkahn, pushing it hard enough to send it flying at the bars protecting Byron's cell. "Watch out!" Zapto warned the man as the energy reaction took place once again. When the smoke cleared, the bars were blown away, and now Byron was free. "Thanks, kids." Byron said with gratitude. "Now let's go show that Emperor a thing or two!" He then said with enthusiasm. The other three heroes heartily agreed and together they ran out of the prison ward. The hidden security camera on the ceiling saw the whole thing.

Meanwhile…

"Hmm, those kids are more resourceful than I thought." The Emperor thought out loud. He tapped a few keys on the computer in front of which he sat. "But that doesn't really matter. If anything, it gives me a chance to take care of them myself." The Emperor laughed to the sentence of which only he knew the true meaning of. He tapped a few more keys and, although no face appeared on the screen, a new voice spoke from the computer. "What is it, sir?" The deep and manly voice asked. "Dakim, we have some intruders running around in the mines. There's no doubt that they'll eventually reach your end. I want you to be on full alert." The Emperor told the communicator on his computer. "Understood, sir. I make sure those intruders understand what it feels like to cross us." The communicator replied with just a hint of hotheaded anger. "Excellent. Don't fail me." The Emperor commanded as he terminated the connection. "Things are going perfectly according to plan." The Emperor grinned to himself.


	35. Chapter 34

Chapter 34- The Mines and its Guardian

Zapto, Blackfire, Valon, and Byron came running out of the prison into a dimly lit earthen hallway. Though the hallway went both left and right from the entrance of the prison, Byron knew the layout of the mines like the back of his hand. "Our first priority should be to free the men the Emperor is forcing to work here. One of those men is my son." Byron said dryly. "Sounds good to me, mate! Which way to the mines?" Valon asked. "To the right!" Byron said while pointing in that direction. "Then let's go!" Zapto urged. The four heroes ran down the hallway until they reached a kind of elevator lift. Basically, it was a single platform, with no roof and only a revolving barricade gate to block people from entering it. "Allow me." Byron insisted as he motioned towards an electronic panel on the wall near the elevator. He placed his hand on the plate and the scanner identified the hand as Byron's. "Access granted." The automated voice said as the gate lifted up, allowing entrance to the elevator. "Let's roll." Byron then commanded.

The four heroes ran onto the lift and Byron pulled the lever to move the elevator down. The lift creaked, but started it descent into the mines without much delay. The ride down was quite uneventful. The walls were nothing more than earth held up by some metal scaffolding for support and to provide a track for the elevator. It didn't take long for the elevator to reach the bottom of the shaft. The gate opened and the four heroes stepped out into the main portion of the mines: the mining sector. At first, it appeared to be just an empty cliff, however as the heroes walked further they looked down into the vast land below them. The mine was huge. Scattered all throughout the earth pit, were hundreds of men smashing at the ground with their picks and shovels and salvaging the metals that they found. Also scattered among them were hundreds of Shadowkahn, one for every man, standing guard and making sure the slave miners did their work.

"This is horrifying!" Blackfire exclaimed as she looked around and saw the enslaved men. One man in particular caught Byron's attention. "Roark!" Byron shouted to a man near the front of the mine, closer to the cliff. Down below, a young man looked up weakly. He wore the same kind of pants and gloves as Byron, but he wore no cape, and instead wore a gray, long sleeved, unbuttoned shirt with a black undershirt. He had brown hair and on his head, he wore a mining helmet. When the young man looked up, he instantly smiled. "Dad!" The young man apparently named Roark cried back. Upon seeing the young man distracted from his mining, a nearby Shadowkahn turned its head to Roark and whipped him on the back with his tentacle. Roark fell to his knees as a result of the impact and returned to his mining. "This is outrageous!" Byron exclaimed with obvious anger in his voice. "He's right, mates. Something's gotta be done to end this!" Valon also exclaimed.

"First you'll have to go through me." A deep and manly voice said. The heroes turned around and saw a second elevator exactly the same as the first next to the first elevator. The lift was down and walking away from it was a person new to almost all of the heroes. "Dakim! Somehow I knew you'd be involved in something like this!" Byron shouted to the approaching man. Dakim was a very large man. He was tall, muscular, and had big, red, spiked hair. He was dressed in a grayish-white suit and had no shoes or footwear on. Around his neck he wore a green rope-like thread with red and white balls at regular intervals on it and his face was marked with two red wavy lines, like war paint. "Wa ha ha, Byron! It's been a while!" Dakim bellowed.

"Byron, do you know this chap?" Valon asked. "Sad to say, yes I do." Byron replied. "Wa ha ha! Why of course he does! We're practically brothers. Well to be technical, we're brother-in-laws. You see, Byron here married my sister a long time ago. How is she doing by the way? Wa ha ha!" Dakim asked mockingly. Byron looked at him maliciously. "You know full well how she's doing." Byron said coldly. "Wa ha ha, I'm sorry, did I touch a nerve? Actually, my sister, Byron's wife, is now dead." Dakim replied, showing the faintest sign of sadness in his eyes. "I don't consider you any brother of mine." Byron replied. "Wa ha ha, you believe what you want to. But the reality is that you're not getting out of these mines alive." Dakim said confidently as he raised his fists. "Now who's gonna fight me?" He then asked. "How about all at once?" Blackfire suggested as she raised her fists and charged two star bolts. "Wa ha ha, fine by me! But I think I might need a few friends for this one then." Dakim said as four large shadows rose out of the ground and took a physical form. When the shadows finished materializing, Dakim and the four Shadowkahn stood to face the heroes.

"Byron, stay back. You don't have a weapon." Zapto advised. "Hmm, you're right. Alright, take care of these guys for me." Byron said as Zapto, Blackfire, and Valon prepared their battle poses and weapons. "Attack!" Dakim commanded as the Shadowkahn charged at the heroes. Valon easily parried and slashed the Shadowkahn in the side, dissipating it to the shadows. Blackfire went flying at her Shadowkahn to counter attack it and X-slashed it to destroy it. Finally, Zapto jumped into the air and raised his sword high and struck the remaining two Shadowkahn with two lightning bolts, ridding the battle field of any Shadowkahn. "We're a lot more experienced than you might have thought." Zapto told Dakim, who looked bewildered that his Shadowkahn had been defeated so easily. "Hmm, you may be right. Wa ha ha, then I think it's time to step it up a notch." Dakim replied as he jumped forward and roundhouse kicked Zapto, sending him sliding across the ground. "Ah, he's strong." Zapto said as he grabbed his side in pain. But he soon regained his composure and rejoined the fight. "Wa ha ha! I think you might find this fight harder than your previous ones!" Dakim challenged. "We'll see, mate." Valon retorted. "Bring it." Dakim taunted as the battle officially began.


	36. Chapter 35

Chapter 35- The Miner Rebellion

"Hey Tai, take a look at that!" One of the miners said to another. He wore brown shorts and a stained yellow shirt with a swirled symbol in the middle. Above the shirt, he wore a red jacket and on top of his brown hair, he wore a dark yellow hat with goggles. Not to far from where he was standing, another miner looked up to the top of the cliff above the mining area. The other young man wore a blue shirt and brown pants similar to the first young man. He also wore two white gloves and he too wore goggles atop his spiked, puffy head of brown hair. All of the clothing on the two miners was stained with the dirt of which they had been mining. "Yea you're right, Takuya! It looks like two guys up there are fighting Dakim." Tai pointed out. At this point, the Shadowkahn were aware of their simple conversation. "Hey, that's my dad up there too!" A third miner named Roark shouted while also pointing to the top of the cliff. At this point, the Shadowkahn got fed up with the miners not working and one of them struck Roark with its tentacle. "That's it! If those guys can stand up to Dakim and his Shadowkahn, than we can too!" The young man named Takuya shouted as he whacked the Shadowkahn that hit Roark with a pick, sending it falling to the ground. Soon the other miners began hitting their Shadowkahn guards and a miner rebellion began.

Meanwhile, at the top of the cliff…

Zapto was just staggering to his feet again to confront Dakim. "Wa ha ha! You can't match my unbeatable strength!" Dakim gloated. "We'll see about that." Blackfire replied as she threw two star bolts at Dakim. He quickly dodged the attack and jumped up and punched Blackfire in the stomach, sending her crumpling to the ground in pain. While Dakim was still in midair, Zapto jumped up and slashed Dakim's upper arm with an uppercut attack. "No one's unbeatable." Zapto stated as both he and Dakim landed on the ground. "I'm more unbeatable than you three." Dakim said sternly. "We'll see, mate." Valon challenged as he joined the fight by shooting two laser beams at Dakim. Dakim side-stepped to dodge, but Blackfire beat him to it by throwing two star bolts at his new location. Dakim jumped to dodge that assault, but Zapto jumped above him and threw down two lightning bolts on his head. Both Blackfire's and Zapto's attacks hit their mark and Dakim fell over, facedown.

"Urgh… it's not over yet." The defeated Dakim moaned. "Actually, mate, it's real over." Valon said confidently. Somehow Dakim managed to rise to his feet, but he was still weak from the fight. "Face it Dakim, we beat you. To good guys always win, right kids?" Byron said and the other three heroes nodded. "Plus, look down there." Byron continued as he motioned to the bottom of the cliff where the mines are. Dakim looked over the edge and was horrified by what he saw. The miners were fighting the Shadowkahn for freedom, and they were winning. The amount of Shadowkahn to miners was much less and victory looked imminent for the miners. "It doesn't have to be this way, Dakim. I know you're a good person deep down inside. Join with us and together we can overthrow the Emperor." Byron offered. "Byron, I have always allied myself with the strongest side. It is all I have ever known. I'm sorry, brother." Dakim said with remorse as walked towards the elevator that took the heroes to the mines. "Perhaps the next time we meet, it won't be this way." Dakim finished as he stepped into the elevator and rose to the top, disappearing from the heroes' sight. "Poor Dakim, he was just confused." Blackfire said in pity.

Then all of a sudden, a huge roar of victory sounded throughout the cavern as hundreds of men lifted up their picks and shovels. The four heroes on the cliff looked down and saw not a single Shadowkahn. "It looks like they did it." Zapto said cheerfully. "Yea, but how do we get those blokes up here to leave this place?" Valon asked. But he soon got his answer as the cliff began to rumble and a huge ramp came jutting out of the cliff and went down to the bottom of the mine. "Looks like we got our wish!" Blackfire exclaimed. With a way back up, the miner began stampeding up to the top of the cliff. "Huzzah to the heroes who saved us!" A random miner shouted from the crowd. The rest soon joined in and applauded their saviors with shouts and clapping. "Dad!" Another miner shouted from the crowd as he came running to meet Byron and the others. "Son!" Byron shouted in reply to Roark who came running towards him. "Son, I thought I might never see you again!" Byron cried as he hugged his son. "Dad, I'm glad you're safe." Roark cried. They released their hug and began to strategize on their next course of action.

"Thanks for saving us. I don't know what we would have done without you three." Roark thanked the heroes. "It was no problem, mate." Valon replied. Then Zapto remembered Gennai and the promise they made to him. "Say Roark, do you know anyone named Tai who is also in these mines?" He asked. "Of course, we grew up together! We've known each other for practically our whole lives." Roark replied. "Hey, Tai! Come over here!" He then called to a nearby young man dressed in blue. When he heard Roark calling, he and another young man, the one dressed in red, came walking over to where Zapto and the others were. "What's up, Roark?" Tai asked. "These people who saved us were looking for you." Roark told his friend. Tai and the other man turned to face their heroes. "Oh, well thanks for saving us. I'm Tai." He told them. "And my name's Takuya." The man in the red jacket said.

"So why are you looking for me?" Tai asked them politely. Zapto explained how they met Gennai and Kari in the village and how they promised to bring him back. "I see, well then we best be getting out of here. It's probably not safe here." Tai suggested. "He's right. The Emperor will probably try to take us back." Takuya pitched in. "You're right." Byron agreed. "Alright, listen up! We're going to try to get everyone out of these mines and back to your families. Everyone please try to cooperate with us as we try to bring all of you up in the elevator." Byron shouted to the crowd of former miners. The miners shouted their approval and they began to load the miners onto the carts and bring them out of this dismal place.


	37. Chapter 36

Chapter 36- The Miner Exodus

As the miners scrambled to escape their captivity, the Emperor sat in his control room and worked on his computer. It was then that a transmission appeared on the screen. "Sir, Metal Sonica has just left the facility with his ship fully repaired." Skrub told his master. The Emperor smiled. "Excellent. I'm glad to be rid of that fool." He replied. "S-sir, it would also appear that Dakim has left the facility as well. And all of our miners are also making their escape." Skrub added uncertain of how his master would react. But the Emperor only laughed with grinning. "I already know of this, Skrub. Everything is going according to plan. However those kids are taking it a bit too far. I think it's time for me to take matters into my own hands." The Emperor said darkly. "Y-you don't mean…?" Skrub asked with a tinge of fear in his voice. The Emperor's grin widened. "Yes, Skrub. That's exactly what I mean." He replied. "I understand sir. I'll go make the necessary preparations." He said as he ended the transmission. The Emperor rose from his chair and walked out of the room, laughing the entire way.

Meanwhile…

Zapto, Blackfire, Byron, and about thirty miners or so were riding up the elevator to the exit. "Alright, when we reach the top, Blackfire and I will go ahead and clear a way to get out of here." Zapto told the miners with authority. "Follow behind us and Byron will go back and get the other miners and Valon, Tai, Roark, and Takuya will bring up the rear." Blackfire finished. "Does everybody understand?" Byron asked the miners. They replied with a rousing cheer and a resounding "Yes!" "Alright, the elevator's reaching the top." Byron pointed out. The elevator did indeed reach the top and the gate opened with a beep. "Let's go!" Zapto commanded as he, Blackfire, and the miners all ran out of the elevator into the main hallway.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the elevator…

"Look, the elevator's coming back down." Takuya pointed out. And when it did, Byron stepped out alone. "Alright, send up the next group." Byron commanded as about thirty miners got aboard the elevator. "Dad, come here for minute." Roark motioned to his father. "What is it, son?" Byron asked as he walked over to where Roark and the others were standing. "When we were fighting the Shadowkahn, most of them completely disappeared. But one of them, accidentally I think, dropped this in the battle." Roark told Byron as he held up a large black ring. Its design was simple and it was rather light considering its obvious metallic composition. "Hmm, this is interesting. It looks like this ring is made of the same metals that we mine here." Byron observed as he examined the ring. "Why do you think the Shadowkahn had it?" Tai asked. "Hmm, that's a good question. I think I'll just hold on to this in case we find out anything new." Byron replied as he pocketed the artifact. "Alright now, mates, let's get the next batch of miners headed up!" Valon reminded everyone. "He's right, let's go!" Takuya said as the next group of miners began their ascent to the outside world.

Back in the upper hallway…

Zapto and Blackfire were leading the group of miners through the hallway from which they originally came from. "I'm surprised there's no resistance or any guards." Blackfire commented. But just then, a black shadow formed on the ceiling and a Shadowkahn dropped down from the ceiling. Another one immerged from the floor, and two more from each wall. "Looks like you spoke too soon." Zapto replied as he stopped running and unsheathed his sword. He ran ahead and slashed one of the Shadowkahn in the side and then shot an electric blast at another one. Blackfire then shot two star bolts at the remaining two and the escape continued. At this point the second group of miners was at the hallway and joining with the first group. The elevator was then going down for the third group. As Zapto, Blackfire, and the miners were running down the hallway, Shadowkahn kept appearing and Zapto and Blackfire kept defeating them same easy way as they had been doing.

Running down the hallway, they passed the prison ward and a couple of other doors that were marked with sign that said things like "Storage Room" and other unimportant rooms. But the most important door was the one at the end of the hallway that had no wording on it at all. "There! Byron said the door with no sign on it leads to the outside and the main entrance and exit." Zapto said as he pointed ahead of him to the door at the end of the hallway. Blackfire ran ahead and pulled open the heavy steel door. "Everybody in!" She commanded. The miners happily obliged and Zapto led the way to the supposed exit. But when they got inside, it was not the outdoor terrain they had expected. In fact, it was no more than a very large cavern with nothing much in it except for many rocks, stalagmites, stalactites, and another large steel door on the other side of the room.

"What is this room?" Zapto asked no one in particular. "Ha ha ha! This is our little arena that we installed right near the exit. Lovely, isn't it?" A semi-familiar voice said to the incoming group of miners and Zapto. They looked in the direction of the voice and saw Skrub standing right in front of the exit door. "You're Skrub, right? You work for the Emperor." The voice of Tai said as he walked into the room behind the final groups of miners. Takuya, Roark, Byron, and Valon also came in now that all the miners had been rescued. Blackfire followed suit after she closed the door. "That's right, but I believe we've already established that. And now I'm sorry, but I can't let any of you leave this place. So I hope you'll come quietly or suffer the consequences." Skrub replied with a threat.

"I'm sorry, mate, but we don't give up that easily." Valon spoke up as he pushed his way to the front of the group with Zapto. "Is that so? Well then, I hope you're prepared to get knocked down the hard way." Skrub replied as he pressed a silver button on his wrist. The first thing that happened was that both of the doors were covered by a rock covering that moved down from the sides of the doors, effectively trapping anyone who wanted to come in or out of the room. But the more drastic effect was that to Skrub's uniform. Instantly, his silver armor was being bulked up with more muscle and his helmet became larger and gained enhanced viewing power. His arms had powerful fists on them and his legs and feet appeared to have rocket propulsion features on them.

"What do you think now?" Skrub asked the heroes in a confident fashion. "It's gonna take a lot more than that to scare me, mate." Valon replied. "Yea, you can't beat all of us at once." Zapto added. "Actually, Zapto, if it's all the same to you, I'd like to take on this guy on my own." Valon replied. "But Valon…" "Hey, I haven't had a good fight this whole adventure, mate. Plus this bloke might have some answers to my questions about the Emperor. Like how does he know so much about us? So I'm going solo on this fight." Valon smiled. "Alright." Zapto conceded. "One or a thousand, I can still beat any of you." Skrub said. "En garde."


	38. Chapter 37

Chapter 37- Skrub's Last Stand

"I think you underestimate my armor power, or else you would have never challenged me." Skrub said smugly. "I think you underestimate us, mate." Valon replied as he unsheathed his twin blades. "We'll see!" Skrub said as his rocket propelled feet activated and sent him flying towards Valon. Valon quickly sidestepped and took a slash at Skrub's arm. The blade struck, but the armor was so strong that the slash hardly left a dent. Skrub laughed and quickly turned around and punched Valon square in the chest. He flew a few feet and hit the ground rolling. "My armor is impervious to all of your attacks!" Skrub laughed as Valon struggled to his feet. "It doesn't matter, mate. The good guys always win." Valon groaned as he switched around his blades and shot two laser beams at Skrub. But Skrub simply raised his hand and absorbed the attack with some kind of protection shield. "Another neat feature of my armor." Skrub said as he concentrated the power that was just shot at him and threw an energy ball at Valon.

But this time, Valon was ready. He jumped to dodge it and then attempted to kick Skrub, but Skrub was too fast and grabbed his foot as it was about to strike. "Gotcha, mate." Valon said with pride that his plan worked. Before Skrub could react, Valon twisted around and slashed his helmet with his blades, causing a major crack going down the side of his helmet. "Ag!" Skrub screamed as he stumbled back. "You'll pay for that! You can't beat me!" Skrub retorted with an armor punch to the face. Valon never lost his balance, but went sliding across the floor. As a follow up attack, Skrub then jetted forward and punched Valon's arm and shattered the blade on Valon's right arm. "Now we're even." Skrub said. Valon shook his arm to let loose of the access shrapnel, and then shot a single laser beam at Skrub's head.

Skrub raised his arm and protected himself against the attack. "Haven't you learned by now you can't defeat me with those weak attacks?" Skrub asked mockingly. "There's always a way, mate" Valon replied as he looked around the room. And then he saw his major opening. "It just might take a little to find it!" Valon finished as he shot a laser beam and ripped the foundation of a few stalactites on the ceiling. The sharp rocks fell and caught Skrub totally off guard. The first one hit Skrub in the head, temporarily stunning him. Another two smashed into his shoulders, mortally damaging his armor. Skrub fell on his back to the ground and a fourth stalactite nailed his chest. "Urgh… not… bad." Skrub managed to get out as he struggled to his feet. The upper portion of his armor was ripped apart by the sharp rocks and his lower part has many scratches from the fall. "I'll… get… you… yet." Skrub gasped as he tried to shoot a blast from his arm at Valon. But the armor was too badly damaged and the blast fizzled out before it even left the cannon. Skrub tried one more time, failed, and then fell facedown on the ground.

"I told you, mate: The good guys always win." Valon said victoriously as he sheathed his single remaining blade and walked towards Skrub. When Valon got right up to where Skrub was lying, he pulled him from the ground and held him up by his collar. "Now talk, mate. Just who is this Emperor bloke?" Valon asked him. "The… the Emperor is the smartest man in the galaxy." Skrub replied. "Why is he the smartest? How does he know so much?" Valon asked, now starting to lose his patience. Skrub smirked a little and then replied, "The Emperor just is and just does. There's no way to explain it. He's a complete genius and you'll never be able to defeat him." Valon was about to throw him to the ground in anger, but Tai, Roark, and Takuya reached the front of the group of miners and walked up to where Valon and Skrub were and where Zapto, Blackfire, and Byron were now watching.

"Relax, Valon, there's no need to be angry about this." Tai said to him. Valon lightened his grip on Skrub. "Sorry, mate you're right." Valon apologized. "Skrub, do you know anything about this black ring we found?" Roark asked him as he showed him the large black ring his father just recently gave him. It was the same one that they found in the mines earlier. "Where did you find that?" Skrub asked quickly with his eyes wide. "One of the Shadowkahn dropped it back in the mines." Takuya answered. "You obviously know what it is, so why don't you tell us?" Byron suggested. Skrub though for a moment and then gave his answer. "No, I can't. I won't help you guys in any way." Skrub answered defiantly. "And why not, Skrub? I don't think you're a really bad guy. So please help us out." Tai told him compassionately. Skrub thought for another minute. "Why? Because sometimes the good guys don't always win. Take a look for yourselves, the Emperor always wins." Skrub smiled as the ground began to shake. "What's going on?" Valon asked as he let go of Skrub's collar. "Ha ha ha ha! What's happening you ask? The end for you is happening!" The Emperor's voice laughed as a portion of the ground moved away and a metal platform was raised to the ground level. Standing on the platform, was none other than the Emperor himself.


	39. Chapter 38

Chapter 38- The Emperor's Master Plan

"Well, well, it looks like we have everybody assembled in this one room now. Fitting for the final realization of my master plan." The Emperor said to no one in particular. "Just what is going on here?" Byron asked in frustration. The Emperor laughed once again. "What does it look like is going on here? All of you have all been pawns in my master plan for complete domination of this world. You see, everything that has happened to date- Zapto and his friends coming here, them being captured, them escaping, the miners escaping, Dakim leaving, Skrub being defeated- it's all part of my master plan!" The Emperor laughed. Everyone looked quite shocked, but Skrub did more than any of the heroes. "You mean you used me? Dakim and I… you used us?!" Skrub asked indignantly. The Emperor laughed even harder. "Of course I used you, fool! Everything that has happened has all been for the glorification of me." The Emperor laughed.

"And just what is that master plan?" Blackfire asked the insane villain. At this question, the Emperor abruptly stopped laughing. "What do you think? Since I am a complete genius, isn't fitting that I rule this world? You so-called heroes are the last hope of the opposition of Vaati's control on this galaxy. If and when I defeat you here, evil will spread throughout the galaxy and I will ascend to the throne of greatness." The Emperor said as he smiled fiendishly. "So that's what this is about: defeating us?" Zapto asked. "Exactly right, Zapto. You should actually be proud of yourselves for making it this far. Defeating Jinzo and Noah on your planet was no easy feat." The Emperor replied with no actual encouragement behind the words. "How do you know about that? How did you find out so quickly?" Zapto asked, taken aback. "Haven't you fools figured it out by now? I am a complete genius!" The Emperor replied, the anger rising in his voice. "Just one more question, mate: just how do you plan to defeat us?" Valon asked. "I suppose it's time to reveal that part of my plan. I've been waiting for this moment for quite a long time." The Emperor smiled as he pushed his cape aside so that he may reach for the whip on his belt. After stretching it to its full length, he cracked it on the ground and the ground began to shake.

The ground in between the Emperor and the large party of heroes opened up and a very long table rose up on a metal platform. Sitting on top of the table were multiple glass jars with what looked like large bones inside them. Sitting at the center of the table was a very large skull. It had a huge, gaping mouth filled with sharp teeth, and a single, spiked horn protruding from the top. Attached to the back of the skull was the beginning of a spinal chord. "What is that?" Takuya asked somewhat frightened. "It… can't be!" Byron exclaimed even more afraid of the skull and the surrounding bones. "Hmm hmm hmm, of course it is." The Emperor chuckled. "But what is it?" Blackfire asked both Byron and the Emperor. "You may or may not be aware of the fact that not only are precious metals and minerals found in this mine, but some fossils were also found in this mine; Fossils of beasts that once roamed this earth and dominated the wilderness. If one of these great beasts could be brought back from their temporal death, it would have incredible power over the beings of this time period." The Emperor replied, smiling evilly the whole time.

"Are you trying to bring back an ancient creature?! You can't be serious?!" Byron shouted, disbelieving of the Emperor's plot. "I am very serious. And I have the exact means to control it too." The Emperor said, smiling even wider. "That's what you made the rings for!" Skrub exclaimed with newfound understanding. "Those black rings… Is that what they're for, to control an ancient creature?" Roark asked as he took the black ring they found from his father. "Maybe you aren't as dumb as you all appear to be. Yes, I invented the Dark Rings to control other beings. However the Dark Rings were really just a prototype. They were meant for much lower beings than this creature." The Emperor said indifferently. "Lower beings… The Shadowkahn!" Tai exclaimed with understanding. "Precisely, the original Dark Rings were meant to control the Shadowkahn. Every single one of them had a Dark Ring around it. However they were usually impossible to see. There are exceptions I guess. At any rate, I knew the Dark Rings would not to strong enough to control something as massive as this beast, so I invented something a little stronger…" The Emperor trailed off as he reached to the other side of his belt and pulled out what appeared to be a modified Dark Ring. It was made out of the same material and had the same coloring, however this device was shaped like a spiral or helix.

"Behold! My most powerful creation to date: The Dark Spiral!" The Emperor cried triumphantly as he held his dark invention up in the air. "No way!" Roark shouted in disbelief. "He he, yes way! As soon as I place this device on the spinal chord of my ancient skeleton, the bones will arrange themselves into perfect order and my beast will be reborn!" The Emperor laughed as he strode towards the table. "Ken, no!" Skrub shouted as he attempted to fire up his jets and push the Emperor aside. However, his armor was too badly damaged and he simply ended up running towards his master. "Don't call me that!" The Emperor shouted, almost animal-like, as he cracked down his whip at his servant. The whip nailed Skrub on the chest and sent him crumpling to the ground. Everyone gasped at this outburst of anger, but Skrub continued crawling towards the Emperor.

"Ken… Why do you have to do this? We used to be such good friends, but you're taking it too far." Skrub managed to get out as he struggled to his feet. The Emperor looked at him with a strange mix of hatred and fear in his eyes. "I don't have any friends! I don't need them!" The unstable Emperor yelled as he whipped Skrub again. He fell to the ground, but the Emperor kept whipping him relentlessly. "Stop!" Zapto shouted as he threw a small lightning bolt at the space in between Skrub and the Emperor. The Emperor stepped back, but Skrub was already unconscious. "Hmph, I suppose it doesn't matter." The Emperor said as he regained his composure. "This spells the end for you." He then said as he slipped the Dark Spiral on the skull's neck. The skull's eyes sockets lit up with a deep red circle, and a dark force began to work.


	40. Chapter 39

Chapter 39- The Wrath of Skullgreymon

"Ahaha, it is done!" The Emperor laughed as his evil ritual began to take place. The eyes of the skull flashed a deep red and began to shine with evil intent. An ominous wind began to blow and the jars containing the other bones shattered. The bones themselves magically levitated up in the air and began to assemble themselves in the shape of the great ancient beast. It wasn't long before it fully took the form it had when it once roamed the planet, millions of years ago. Its legs were somewhat bent over, but the monster itself was very tall and had a long bony tail. Above its hollow ribcage were two long, clawed arms and it had some kind of spikes jutting from its back. The creature reared its head up and let out a massive roar. The ground began to shake with the noise of the roar and rocks and minerals from the ground formed themselves on the monster's back spikes into a kind of orange torpedo, pointed at the top.

"Finally, you obey me, Skullgreymon!" The Emperor cried as he cracked his whip on the ground and laughed the hardest he had ever laughed. The monstrosity roared again and stamped its feet on the ground. "Now destroy them!" The Emperor commanded. "I can't believe he actually did it! How do we beat this?!" Byron cried. "Let's do our best, mates! Go!" Valon shouted as he jumped up into the air and slashed the skull of the monstrosity known as Skullgreymon. The assault didn't even phase it and it countered with a swipe of its mighty arm, knocking Valon back down to the ground. "Let me take a stab at it!" Zapto said as he slammed his Lightning Sword down on the forehead of the beast. Once again the attack did nothing and Skullgreymon sent Zapto pummeling to the ground as well. "Maybe special attacks will work here." Blackfire suggested as she flew up into the air and threw a barrage of star bolts at Skullgreymon. The impacts hit the skull of the beast and made a cloud of dust above the skull. But when the dust cleared, Skullgreymon responded again with a slashing counterattack.

"How can we beat this thing?" Takuya asked as he started to lose hope. "If anyone can do it, it's our guys." Roark said trying to give some optimism to his friend. "I'm sure they'll think of something. I know they can do it." Tai said, him being the most optimistic of the three." "Yea! You can do it!" The crowd of miners cheered. "Alright, we can do this! Let's all attack at once!" Zapto commanded as he threw a lightning blast at Skullgreymon. Blackfire threw some star bolts and Valon also shot a laser beam at the monster. They all hit their mark and Skullgreymon backed up a step from the impact of all three hits. But when the dust cleared, the actual damage of the multiple attacks did very little real damage. If anything, it just made Skullgreymon angrier. "Now counterattack! Crush them!" The Emperor commanded as he cracked his whip on the ground again.

Skullgreymon let out another great roar and prepared for its counterattack. It smashed its giant arm on the ground near the heroes, but they all managed to quickly sidestep out of the way. The skeletal monster then lifted one of its curved legs and attempted to stomp on the heroes and some of the miners. But because of the beast's hugeness, it was much slower than the heroes who were easily able to dodge the assault. "What are you doing, Skullgreymon? Destroy them!" The Emperor commanded angrily. Skullgreymon replied with a low growl and attempted to claw the heroes again. As its arm came down, Zapto threw a lightning blast, but the attack did essentially nothing.

"Ag, we can't do any damage to this thing." Zapto stated with a tinge of anger in his voice. The miners continued to cheer for their heroes, but Tai seemed deep in thought. "It has to have a weak point." He was muttering to himself. Meanwhile, Skullgreymon seemed to be getting angry that none of his attacks were hitting his enemies. It started wildly swinging at the ground with its arms in an attempt to hit Zapto and his friends. When it saw that that wasn't working, it started walking around in an attempt to stomp his opponents as well as smash them with its arms. All in all, it was going crazy trying to destroy those who were attacking it. "What are you doing, Skullgreymon? Control yourself!" The Emperor demanded with an angry air about his voice. But the skeletal beast was not able to hear its master's commands because it was so engrossed in its rage and desire to destroy to comprehend anything he was saying. It was quite literally going crazy trying to crush Zapto and the other heroes. Meanwhile rocks and sand were starting to fall from the ceiling as if the cavern itself was starting to implode. The heroes continued to attack Skullgreymon with their various attacks, but none of them were doing any kind of damage against its heavy bone armor.

"I got it! I know how to beat Skullgreymon!" Tai exclaimed with sudden enlightenment. "Well please tell us mate before this whole cavern caves in!" Valon asked with a kind of hurry in his voice. "Alright, try to focus your attacks on the Dark Spiral around Skullgreymon's neck. If the Spiral is destroyed, Skullgreymon should fall apart!" Tai told the struggling heroes. "He's right! Since the Dark Spiral allowed the bones to form that shape, if it's gone, then Skullgreymon will revert to its original form!" Blackfire also realized. "Why didn't I think of that? Alright mates, focus your attacks on that Dark Spiral!" Valon commanded his fellow heroes. In response to Tai's plan and Valon's call to battle, Blackfire threw three star bolts at Skullgreymon's neck. But the skeletal beast moved its arm in the way of the attack and the bolts simply hit its arm and did nothing to it. "That's good, Skullgreymon. Don't fall for their tricks. You belong to me!" The Emperor shouted.

"Alright, here's the plan, I'll distract him and you two go in for the kill. Got it?" Zapto asked Blackfire and Valon. "Gottcha mate! Let's go!" Valon affirmed. Zapto nodded and then jumped up to the same plane as Skullgreymon's head. He lifted his Lightning Sword high above him and plunged the blade straight into Skullgreymon's head. The beast reared back in pain and let out a massive roar. "Attack now!" Zapto shouted in command. Obeying his command, Blackfire threw a few star bolts and Valon shot a solid laser beam at the Dark Spiral. The attacks hit their mark perfectly and the Spiral shattered into millions of pieces of black dust. Skullgreymon roared even louder than before and it began to crumble from the legs up. First the legs detached themselves from the main body and they disassembled from there. "No, NO! This can't happen! My Skullgreymon is invincible!" The Emperor shouted in desperation. But despite the Emperor's wishes, Skullgreymon was literally falling apart. Its torso and arms were disassembling and falling to the ground as well and the red light in its eyes had gone out, leaving the same empty eye sockets as before. But on its dying moment, Skullgreymon let loose one final attack. The orange torpedo on its back was shot out with tremendous force and it hit the wall of the cavern and exploded. The wall took a heavy blow, but it was worth it for Skullgreymon was no more.


	41. Chapter 40

Chapter 40- The Emperor's Insanity

"Skullgreymon!" The Emperor shouted as his beloved monster crumbled to the dust from wench it came. "Face it, mate, it's over. We win." Valon said to the Emperor. "This can't be… Skullgreymon lost…" The Emperor trailed off as he fell to his knees. "I suppose even the mighty Emperor has his weaknesses." Byron said dryly. At about this time, Skrub was just coming around from his unconsciousness. "Ugh, what happened? Did you guys win?" Skrub asked Zapto and Valon as he rose to his feet again. "You bet, mate! We sure showed this Emperor guy and his skeletal monster!" Valon replied happily. Skrub sighed. "That's good. Ken, do you see it now? Do you understand why you lost?" Skrub asked the Emperor. "Don't… don't call me that." The Emperor weakly commanded, still on his knees. "And why not, Ken? Why can't you face the truth? Why do you have to keep up this whole Emperor façade? Just face the truth in your heart!" Skrub snapped back. But the Emperor simply tilted his head towards Skrub and smiled. "Because even in apparent defeat, I still win and you still fail." He said almost softly. "What is that supposed to mean?" Skrub asked in reply.

But he soon got his answer as the ground and the walls began to shake. "What's going on here?" Roark asked the Emperor with slight confusion in his voice. But the Emperor simply chuckled to himself. "That final torpedo that Skullgreymon shot hit the wall of the cavern and made everything unstable. This whole room will collapse in about ten minutes or so." The Emperor replied softly as though it didn't really matter to him if the room caved in or not. "Well then we have to get out of here! But how can we?" Byron asked. The Emperor chuckled some more. "You can't. Skrub sealed the exit when he enhanced his armor. There is no escape for anyone." The Emperor said indifferently. "Then how are you going to escape? You wouldn't just sacrifice yourself just to defeat all of us, would you?" Tai asked the broken Emperor. But the Emperor simply smirked a little. "What's the sacrifice of one to end an entire rebellion?" The Emperor countered with a question. "You really are insane!" Takuya remarked with disdain. "Maybe a little, but in the end, aren't we all a little insane?" The Emperor chuckled.

At this point Tai ran up to where the Emperor was knelling. He pulled him up from the ground and held him by the collar of his cape. "Listen to me! I don't know what Skrub is talking about with all of this Ken and truth in your heart stuff, but it seems to me that you were once a good person. So at least tell us your whole sad story and be done and let us go!" Tai almost yelled at him. The Emperor simply smiled a little wider and the cave began to rumble some more. At this point, rocks and dirt were starting to fall from the ceiling and displace themselves. "What does it matter to you?" He asked. "What does it matter? Considering our lives depend on you pulling yourself together, I'd say it means quite a lot!" Tai countered. The Emperor remained silent for a few moments and the cave rumbled some more. Bigger and bigger rocks kept falling from the ceiling and collapse was only a few minutes away. "You'd better hurry, mate. We don't have much time left." Valon urged. Suddenly, the Emperor burst out laughing. "You fools still don't get it! I am completely invincible! I doesn't matter what happens to me as long as I take all of you down, I still win. So why don't you face the fact that you just couldn't outwit me?" The Emperor laughed with almost a hateful malice in his voice. Tai couldn't restrain himself at this remark and punched the Emperor in the face, sending him falling on his back. "This isn't some kind of game! It doesn't matter who wins or losses, lives are at stake! Do you really not care about life that much that you're willing to throw so much of it away?" Tai asked him.

This remark really hit home for the Emperor as he rose to his feet and reached into his cape. When he removed his hand from within his cape, he held a small, gray remote with two buttons on it, a red one and a black one. He lightly tossed it to Tai who caught it and looked at it strangely. "One of these buttons opens the exit door and the other one self-destructs the remote device. If you can hit the right button, then you are free to go." The Emperor said almost calmly. "Are you serious? You're leaving everything up to the chance that we'll hit the right or wrong button? I thought you were always one step ahead of us? What if we hit the right one?" Tai asked. "Like I said, if you hit the right button, then you are free to go. On one small condition however: Zapto is the only person allowed to hit the button, no conversing about it." The Emperor added. Zapto looked shocked at this revelation. "Me? Why would you want me to be the only one to hit the button?" Zapto asked. But the Emperor only smirked. "Time is running out, make your choice." He replied.

"Alright, Zapto, it's your call." Tai said as he tossed the remote to Zapto. He caught the remote and stared at it for a brief moment. "Indeed, Zapto it is your call. Let's see what the great Master of Lightning can do for us." The Emperor said mockingly. "I'm not sure why I have to be the one to hit the button, but here goes nothing." Zapto said as he pressed both buttons at the exact same time. At that moment, two different things happened. First was that the remote started smoking and caused a very small explosion in Zapto's hand. But the second and much more important thing was that a small portion of the wall where the exit door originally was revealed itself once again. "There's the exit!" Blackfire shouted as she pointed to the portal of their salvation. All of the color drained from the Emperor's face. "H-how…?" He trailed off. "Lesson learned, mate: never underestimate us." Valon said. The miners cheered for their escape and Byron's face lit up. "Alright men, let's get out of here!" He exclaimed as he began to lead his miners out of the place of their terrible imprisonment.


	42. Chapter 41

Chapter 41- The Emperor's Transformation

Before long, all of the miners and Byron were successfully evacuated from the collapsing room, leaving Zapto, Blackfire, Valon, Skrub, and the Emperor alone in the cavern. Already very large boulders were beginning to fall and the cavern would probably collapse in only a few short minutes. "Alright, now we have to get out of here." Zapto stated. "You're right, mate." Valon agreed. Skrub turned around and faced the Emperor, who was at this point knelling on the ground, staring at the floor. "Do you get it now, Ken? It's over. Now please come with us and maybe then you can start over again." Skrub said, reaching his hand out to help him up. "Start… over again…" The Emperor mumbled in sadness. "Yes, it's never too late to change. Whatever problems you may have had in the past don't really matter. There's always hope." Blackfire pitched in. "Hope… maybe…" The Emperor trailed off as a drop of water formed on the lenses of his glasses. "Yes, come with us and leave all this madness behind." Skrub offered.

"I don't deserve to begin again." The Emperor whispered emotionlessly. "Sure you do. Everyone deserves a second chance." Blackfire said compassionately. "You don't understand! It's over! I lost! I failed!" The Emperor screamed to the collapsing ceiling. "Snap out of it mate! Here's your chance now take it." Valon said to him. The Emperor looked at him with sadness and fear as multiple tears fell from his eyes. "Then let me go! Let me be free to live my life anew! Take this life and leave it to be crushed in this cave!" The Emperor shouted out loud and he unclipped his cape and let it fall away from him to the ground. He ripped off his sunglasses and threw them to his right where they were subsequently smashed by a falling rock. He ruffled his spiky hair so that it lost its ability to stand up and somehow straightened out down his face and then he slipped off his gloves and threw them at the ground in front of his knees. And then somehow, the emotionally disturbed Emperor rose to his feet and began stumbling out of the cavern towards the exit.

"A good choice, mate. Now let's get out of here!" Valon strongly suggested. Following the mere shadow of the former Emperor, Zapto, Blackfire, Valon, and Skrub exited the cave and the mines for good. Directly outside of the exit was a long hallway that ascended to the outside. The daylight of the outside world felt good to the heroes who were underground for so long. The entrance/exit of the mines lied in a ditch carved into the bottom of a cliff of a hill. Seeing that there was no one directly at the cave, Zapto and his party climbed up the hill to where Byron and the miners were standing.

"Ah good, you guys made it out okay." Byron said to them cheerfully. "Yep, we're all here. Well, physically anyway…" Blackfire began but trailed off as she looked back mournfully at the former Emperor just coming out of the cave. He looked undead as he staggered out and walked along. "I hope he'll be okay." Tai said sympathetically. But before anyone else could say anything on the matter, a familiar voice rang out across the landscape of the fiery planet. "Ahoy, there! Nice to see you all alive!" A far off figure called from across a nearby plain. As the person came running towards them, the heroes, and especially Tai, recognized him instantly. "Grandpa!" Tai shouted as he ran towards the approaching old man. "It's Gennai!" Takuya also exclaimed. The group of miners cheered and the entire party ran down the hill after Tai to meet the old man.

"You know, I think I'm getting too old for this adventure stuff, but I had to see if you were all okay." Gennai said to all of them. "Oh grandpa!" Tai sighed as he hugged the old man. "It's good to see you okay, mate. How's your leg feel?" Valon asked. "Well judging by the way I just ran here, I'd say I feel pretty good." Gennai replied. "That's good." Zapto commented. "It is indeed. And you managed to rescue all of the miners too! That means we can all go back home safely!" Gennai exclaimed with glee. "Well not all of us quite so safely…" Skrub pointed out as he looked behind him. The wayward Emperor was now trying to climb up the hill, but with a whimper, he tripped facedown on the side of the hill. "Is that the Emperor? He doesn't look so well." Gennai asked. Skrub nodded. "Well we can't just leave him here. Let's take him back with us to the village." Gennai suggested.

"You can't be serious?! After all that he's done to us?!" Takuya asked shocked at Gennai's statement. "Why not? It would be wrong to just leave him out here to die. In times like these we all need to learn to forgive and forget." Tai pitched in. Takuya thought for a moment. "Yea, you're right. I don't know what I was thinking." Takuya apologized. "Well then let's go home! Back to the village!" Roark called out. The other miners cheered in approval and the whole party, including the Emperor who was being carried by Skrub and Tai. "T-thank you…" The broken Emperor whispered before he lost consciousness.


	43. Chapter 42

Chapter 42- The Emperor's Revelation

When they arrived at the village, all of the miners immediately, and with Byron's permission, ran home to be reunited with their families. Even Takuya went back home to meet his mother. But Gennai, Tai, Zapto, Valon, Blackfire, Byron, Roark, and Skrub met together at Gennai's house to discuss the recent events of the mines, mainly because Gennai wanted to hear the whole story, and partially to discuss what their next course of action would be.

As the party walked up to Gennai's house, they were greeted by the girl of the house who ran outside to see her grandfather and brother. "Oh you're home safe! I was really worried about you all!" Kari exclaimed as she ran to give her grandfather a hug. Gennai hugged back and Tai let Zapto hold his half of the former Emperor so he could greet his sister. After Kari let go of Gennai, she turned to Tai and her face lit up with a mix between joy and relief. "Oh Tai, I'd thought I'd might never see you again!" She cried as she embraced her brother. "Of course I'd make it back. Did you think I'd ever leave you?" Tai replied. Kari nodded and regained her composure. "Let's go inside now. I need to sit down. I can't just run around all day like you kids and your adventuring." Gennai half offered and half complained. "Alright, let's go." Tai agreed and the whole party of them went inside.

After laying the former Emperor down in the corner on a straw mat, the rest of the heroes sat around the stone table and began their discussion. "So tell me everything that went on in those mines." Gennai asked. Zapto, Valon, and Byron told him and Kari the whole thing. Gennai was most shocked to hear about Skrub and wondered why he was with them now. "I don't really consider myself a bad guy; I was just following what Ken said because it sounded like he was doing the right thing. But I soon realized that what he was doing was so wrong. But by then it was too late." Skrub explained. Gennai nodded in understanding. "That brings us to another question: Just who is the Emperor? Or who was he? Please tell us his story." Blackfire asked of Skrub. "I guess I do owe you that explanation." Skrub sighed and then began his tale.

"It all started about three years ago. Ken, whom you know as the Emperor, and I grew up together in the same neighborhood in a village not too far from here. We went to the same school and lived just next door from each other. You see, he was like a brother to me. My parents died when I was very young, so I practically grew up at his house. Ken was always the best at school. Come to think of it, he was good at everything. He always got the best grades, he was a star soccer player, and it was like he was a child genius or something. But then he started changing…" Skrub stopped because a loud moan was heard from the corner of the room. Everyone turned to the figure that made the noise and the former Emperor Ken slowly opened his eyes. "W-where am I? W-what happened?" He whispered. Tai got up and walked over to where Ken was.

"You're at my house. After the cavern collapsed, we didn't want to just leave you there. So we carried you here." Tai told him. "You did all that… for me? After all I did to you, you saved me?" Ken asked in confusion as he propped himself up. "Of course, mate. We couldn't just let you die down there. No one deserves that." Valon answered. Ken was silent for a moment until Gennai broke the silence. "Well I hope that since we did save your life you'll be willing to sit a while with us." Gennai offered. Ken looked at him for a moment and then answered, "I suppose I owe you that much." Tai scooted over a little bit and Ken got up and moved to the now vacant spot around the long table. "Ken, you look just like you did when we were younger!" Skrub exclaimed. Ken didn't answer and simply stared at Skrub for a moment until Byron broke the silence. "So perhaps Ken you can tell us your story. Please explain this whole Emperor thing to us; we're all dying to know." Byron asked with a bit of malice in his voice.

"Yes, I think I should." Ken replied and then continued the story that Skrub started. "I actually heard everything that was said not too long ago. It's strange, although I was unconscious, I could still hear all of your voices. First off I want to thank you for saving me. Not just from the collapsing cavern, but from myself. You see, it is true that I was considered a child prodigy back in school. But all of that praise and power went to my head. I began to think that I was better than everyone else and I began to disrespect all of my friends. I guess that's why they all left me. It wasn't long before I drove everyone away and was left all alone. But I decided that I didn't need anyone anyways. I moved away from the society that I viewed as much lesser than I and began to plot in secret. Not long after that, a wandering hermit came to my lair and asked something quite peculiar. 'You're the famous Ken, right?' He asked me. I told him that it was me, but to leave me alone. He laughed and then asked me to join his cause. I asked him what that meant and he showed me things beyond this planet. I decided to ally myself with this hermit and I then became the Emperor you once knew me as." Ken finished.

"Ah ha, that explains quite a bit! Now that I really think about it, I thought I saw a little man near the volcano where that demon came out too. Did the hermit happen to mention his name?" Gennai asked. Ken thought for a moment and then replied, "Yes, I believe he said his name was Vaati." Almost everyone gasped, but none were truly surprised that Vaati would try to resurrect a fiery demon. "Ken, I have another question for you. Why were you so focused on me in the mines?" Zapto asked, remembering the whole ordeal with hitting the button. Ken looked down and then lifted his head back up. "To be honest, I viewed you as the leader of the group and the key figure in fighting Vaati. That's why I wanted to make you fail at saving your group in the cavern; it was my way of proving me better than all of you. I was wrong though. I viewed you Zapto as the arrogant one, but I was the one who was wrong the whole time. I hope you can all find it in your hearts to forgive me." Ken admitted.

"Of course we can forgive you. That's how we help out others and make the universe a better place." Tai responded. "Consider yourself a part of the group, mate!" Valon inputted. "Thank you. I won't let you down." Ken said as he showed the faintest hint of a smile. "Alright, now that that's all cleared up, what are we gonna do now?" Roark asked the assembly. But before anyone could answer, a rumbling earthquake shook the ground. "What was that?" Skrub asked to no one in particular. He soon got his answer as Takuya burst into the room. "Everyone, come quickly outside!" He shouted. "What happened?" Byron asked. "It's the palace! Just come out and see!" Takuya replied. Everybody then immediately stood up and ran out following Takuya.


	44. Chapter 43

Chapter 43- Vaati's Appearance

Gennai, Zapto, and the group rushed outside to see what Takuya was raving about. When the group got outside, Takuya pointed to a mountain kind of far off from the village, but still within sight distance. While the heroes had seen it earlier, this time it was very different. The mountain last time looked much bigger than others, and this time it was no different. However this time, lava and molten rock were spewing from the top of the mountain, which was now revealed to the heroes as a volcano. "That's the same volcano where I saw that demon dragon crawl out of!" Gennai exclaimed as he remembered those past events. "Then why is it erupting again? Is something more going on there?" Roark asked no one in particular. "No, it can't be. What have I done?" Ken exclaimed. "What? What happened, mate?" Valon asked Ken.

But at that moment a peal of low evil laughter was heard. "Who was that?" Byron asked. But he soon got his answer as a little old man in a long dirty gray cloak came walking down a hill towards the heroes. His cloak covered his entire body so none of it was visible. "He he he, slowly figuring things out?" The mysterious hermit asked the heroes. "You, you're Vaati! Why did you brainwash me into serving you?" Ken asked loudly while pointing at the old cloaked man. "Hmm hmm hmm, you're a smart little boy." The hermit laughed as he spun around, making a dark purple cloud and when he stopped and the cloud lifted, the hermit's true form was revealed. Everyone gasped as they suddenly knew Ken's words to be true; the mysterious hermit was Vaati.

"I see it's no longer necessary to maintain that form, so I won't. As for your question, I didn't really brainwash you. It was your own arrogance and overconfidence that was your downfall." Vaati replied with a mixture of mocking and indifference in his voice. "Yes… but you still tricked me into it." Ken replied still trying to maintain his emotional composure. "Hmm hmm hmm, you think so? If I remember correctly you wanted to fight for me and 'make every other lesser being suffer.'" Vaati replied with emphasis on a quote from Ken himself. Everyone was silent for a moment. "M-maybe you're right. But that doesn't mean I can't change, right?" Ken asked uncertainly. "Of course you can change! Everyone deserves a second chance!" Zapto interrupted.

"Oh and now Zapto has to make a comment too. I must commend you Zapto on your impressive victory on your home planet not too long ago. It's too bad you're too late to save this one." Vaati commented. "What do you mean?" Blackfire asked. "You see my evil plan is already in full swing as the revival of a local demon dragon is about to take effect." Vaati chuckled. "What is that… you can't be serious?!" Byron exclaimed with sudden understanding. "What is it, dad, what happened?" Roark asked his father. "I know this legend. They say many, many years ago a great dragon roamed the land burning villages and destroying everything in its path. Vaati's plan must be to bring back that same legendary dragon." Gennai explained. "Hmm hmm hmm, you're exactly right. And the rituals are almost complete. You can however try to stop me if you wish it. Just head to Moltro's palace and watch my plans unfold. Ta ta." Vaati finished as he disappeared with a puff of smoke.

"Vaati, wait!" Zapto yelled, but it was already too late. "Well mates, it doesn't seem like we have too many choices now." Valon stated. "Yea, there's really only one thing we can do." Takuya also stated. "You both are right. It's time to go to the palace and finish the evil here once and for all. To the palace!" Tai exclaimed. The party of heroes then headed back to the village and Gennai's house to prepare for the journey.

Meanwhile…

"Sir, all of our systems are back to their full potential. Would you like me to steer us back into space?" A nameless officer asked the captain of the newly repaired _Metal Super Sonica_. The mechanical master thought for a moment and then looked out at a window screen on the ship. Since the ship was flying across the land at about airplane level, he could see the entire landscape below him, including an erupting volcano. "Actually, I think we'll be making another stop on this planet. Set coordinates for the capital palace." Metal Sonica told his officer. "Understood, sir. Setting coordinates now." The officer replied as he punched in the commands on his computer and Metal Sonica laughed evilly to himself.


	45. Chapter 44

Chapter 44- Out of the Frying Pan, into the Fire

"Alright, is everyone ready to go?" Gennai asked the assembled group of heroes who would travel to the palace and defeat Vaati's demon dragon. Embarking on the journey would be Zapto, Blackfire, Valon, Tai, Gennai, Skrub, and Ken. They decided that Byron, Roark, Takuya, and Kari would stay behind to guide and protect the village. "Yes, I think we're all ready to go." Skrub affirmed. "Then let's go, mates!" Valon urged. The traveling party said their goodbyes to those remaining in the village and they set off.

As they were walking, they planned exactly how they would get to the palace as quick as possible. "Well the only way to get there is on foot. The terrain is rugged, but we should be able to make it there within a few hours or so." Tai explained. Slightly upset that the walk to the palace would be long and hard, the heroes continued forward anyways across the rolling fiery hills. After about an hour or two of walking, the heroes sat down to take a break on a flat area between a few very small hills.

"Whew, this is hard walking on this old body of mine." Gennai slightly complained. "Well we still have quite a distance to walk, so we should be leaving again soon." Skrub inputted after about a ten minute break. A little reluctantly, the other heroes agreed. But just as they were getting up, they heard a kind of far off yell. "What was that?" Blackfire asked. But she soon got her answer as a medium sized fireball came rushing down towards then from a nearby hill. "Look out!" Valon shouted as the heroes scrambled to dodge the unknown and sudden assault.

The heroes looked up at the hill and saw a rather inhuman figure. It was roughly about the size of a large man, but it was much wider. It had a flame design across its abdomen and it had strong legs with clawed feet. Its shoulders had flame-like skin coming out of the top of them, and its arms had hollow holes in them that were smoking as if the fireball came out of the one of the holes. It also had claws on the sides of the holes at the end of its arms. Its head was shaped like a giant wisp of flame and it had medium sized and a flat mouth. "Magmortar!" It yelled angrily as it charged and shot another fireball from its arm. The heroes again dodged the attack and began running away from the angry beast.

"What is that thing?" Skrub asked. "I don't know, but whatever it is, I think it's pretty angry." Gennai pointed out. But the fiery beast was fast and shot two fireballs, one from each arm, at the ground to rocket propelled itself ahead and sail through the air, landing right in front of the fleeing heroes. "Mag…" It growled as it pointed its bazooka arm at the heroes and charged up a fire blast. "Magmortar, stop!" A voice called out. The heroes turned to the direction of the voice and saw a young man sliding down a hill to the area where they were. He wore tan colored shorts and a yellow collared shirt that had two buttons unbuttoned at the top. He had bright brown eyes and a red afro for hair. After the young man hit the bottom of the hill, he ran towards the attacking monster.

Almost reluctantly, the fiery creature stopped charging and put down its arm. "Mag…" It growled almost disappointingly. "It's okay, Magmortar, I'm not mad. But you just can't go around attacking everyone that crosses through this area." The young man with the red afro said consolingly as he rubbed the creature's back. "Excuse me young man, but just who are you and what is this creature you apparently know so well?" Gennai asked the young man. The young man looked up and put his hand behind his head almost embarrassingly. "Oh sorry, how rude of me not to introduce myself. The name's Flint and this is my buddy Magmortar." The young man introduced and Magmortar growled its name in greeting.

"So what brings you out all this way, Flint?" Zapto asked. "Well, you see, I live out here in a nearby cave. I guess I'm what you would call a wandering hermit, but that kinda has the connotation that I'm an old man, no offense to present company of course." Flint explained and Gennai looked slightly insulted. Flint smiled jokingly and then continued. "I found Magmortar also out here wandering through the wilderness a few years ago and we've been best buddies ever since." He explained. "I see…" Ken commented quietly. "Say, I have an idea! Why don't you all come hang out in my cave for a while? I don't get many visitors in these parts." Flint offered. "We'd love to, but we can't. You see, we have a mission to defeat a powerful dragon demon and return this planet to its original state." Ken explained. "Is that why the volcano has been erupting a lot lately?" Flint asked. "Yes, the dragon is making the volcano erupt in its revival. " Zapto answered. "Well then if it helps stop the eruptions, then I want to help in any way I can. The eruptions are making Magmortar very uneasy and now I know why." Flint said.

"Actually Flint, there might be something you can help us with. We need to get to the palace as quick as possible, but the only way we can seem to get there is by walking. Do you know of a quicker way to get to the palace?" Tai asked their new friend. Flint thought for a moment and then smiled greatly. "Actually, yea I do! Follow me!" He exclaimed as he and Magmortar started walking in a seemingly random direction.

The heroes followed him for a while, chatting all the way, until they reached a trail of railroad tracks and a small handcart. "This is it, a small handcart? This isn't going to get us very far fast!" Skrub stated in disbelief. "Hehe, o' ye of little faith. I have a plan, no worries. Just climb on." Flint said smiling. Unsure of what Flint had in mind, they still trusted their new friend and all climbed on. "So what now?" Skrub asked. "Alright Magmortar, you know what I have in mind. So your thing!" Flint exclaimed as Magmortar stepped right behind the cart facing the rails and charged a fireball in its arm.

As soon as the large fire blast was done charging, Magmortar let loose an even larger fireball than usual that hit the rail cart at the wheels and sent it flying along the rails in their direction. "Good luck defeating that dragon! And please restore peace to this world!" Flint called out as the heroes sped away in the little hand cart towards the fiery climax at the palace.


	46. Chapter 45

Chapter 45- The Twisted Vizier

After about an hour or two after the rail cart took off from the fire blast from Magmortar, it began to slow down and come to a stop. "It appears we can't go any further on this rail cart." Ken pointed out seeing that it would be faster to walk than to try to manually operate the cart. "I don't think we need to go much further anyways. Look!" Valon said as he pointed up to a much higher mountain nearby. Built into the side and top of the mountain was a large building. It was dark red in color and had many spires and towers built into it. At the front of it, almost at the base of the mountain, was a very large, wooden door. There was no doubt that this was the great palace of this planet.

"You're right, Valon. This is definitely my brother's palace." Zapto confirmed. "Well then, what's the use in just standing here? Let's get a move on!" Gennai said as he climbed off of the rail cart. The others followed suit and the party soon began walking towards the palace. Along the way, they heroes began to wonder just how they would enter the palace secretly and take it. "To be honest, I don't really have a good plan. I think our best bet is to just barge in and fight our way through." Zapto said. Since no one had a better plan, they decided that that would probably be the best way anyway. "That's good mate. I'm tired of sneaking into places!" Valon exclaimed with vigor. The rest agreed and they continued their walk until they were practically at the palace gates.

They all hid behind a large rock and looked at the entrance to see just how well it was guarded. To their surprise, they found that only two Darknuts stood guard over the entrance of the palace, only these Darknuts had a deep red colored armor as opposed to the grayish armor that the other ones had. "Those appear to be the only two guards around here." Blackfire pointed out. "Not quite, look up." Tai said as he pointed up to the top turrets of the palace. Circling the upper towers were the same black flying creatures that they saw in the vision that Zapto's sword gave them. "They kind of look like flying Shadowkahn." Gennai suggested. "That's exactly what they are. The dragon demon created them." Ken said flatly. "What do you mean?" Zapto asked. "The dragon- oh why can't I remember his name? - created all of the Shadowkahn to serve him. If there are now flying ones, then he must be getting stronger." Ken explained.

"Well then we better go in there and beat them up fast, mates!" Valon urged. The rest of the heroes agreed, but decided to be slightly stealthy about it. Instead of rushing in and taking the Darknuts head on, Zapto created a little spark that caught the attention of one of the Darknuts. When it came to investigate it, the heroes quickly dispatched him behind the rock. When the second Darknuts saw that something had happened to its comrade, it decided to check behind the rock as well, only to also meet the same fate as its fellow guard. "We're home free!" Gennai exclaimed somewhat quietly as the party of heroes was now ready to head into the palace.

They all ran up to the two great doors of the palace and managed to push open one of them. When all of them had gotten inside, they were surprised at the grandeur of the place. Unlike Zapto's simple halls, though they were renovated by Jinzo, this hall was much more elaborate. The entry room was one really long hallway, lined with yellow and red banners and had many columns lining a red carpet that led to a set of decorated doors at the far end. "Wow, this palace is amazing!" Tai stated in wonder. But suddenly the sound of evil laughter echoed throughout the hallway and a new voice spoke. "Yes, it is isn't it? I'm so glad it's in more competent hands now." It said in a British accent. The heroes looked around to see where the voice was coming from, and they saw a human figure standing at the far end of the hallway in front of the ornate doors.

The man, who appeared to be in about his thirties or forties, had tanish-white hair and wore a green suit with a yellow tie and had shiny, black shoes. His eyes were blue, with a clearly defined slash of red in them and the cane he held added to the sinister effect of this man. "I'm so glad you all could join us. It's going to be quite the show today." The British-accented man laughed mockingly. "And just who are you?" Valon asked the mysterious man. The man chuckled and then looked directly and intensely at the heroes. "My name is Valmont, the vizier of this planet and overseer of the great dragon's revival." He said quite seriously. "Vizier? What are you talking about?" Blackfire asked. "Oh, I already know the position. My siblings and I all have second-in-commands who help us rule our planets." Zapto answered before Valmont could. "Very good, it seems you all are at least well educated." Valmont said sarcastically. "Not that that will help you much…" He added with a hint of serpent-like noise in his voice.

"You see, you all are just in time to witness the great revival of Shendu, the powerful fire demon!" Valmont laughed evilly. "That's his name! Of course, it's all become clear to me now!" Ken exclaimed. "What is it? What's going on?" Skrub asked. "Shendu is the name of the powerful fire demon that is trying to be revived on this planet. He also happens to be Vaati's general on this planet." Ken explained. "You're quite right, little Emperor. And soon Shendu will indeed rule over this planet." Valmont chuckled. "Wait a minute, how do you know who I am?" Ken asked the evil vizier. "Oh I know quite a good many things about each and every one of you. Even you, Zapto." Valmont said ominously. "And what about me?" Zapto asked.

"Zapto, you know how you feel in your heart about power. You love it just as much as Ken himself once did." Valmont said very seriously as his voice changed a bit from the distinctly British accent, to an almost snake-like undertone. Everyone looked at Zapto in amazement. "Is that true Zapto? Is what the Emperor said back in the mines really true?" Blackfire asked remembering what the Emperor mocked them with earlier. Zapto stared at the ground for a moment and then answered. "I admit that at one time, I did. But that was a long time ago. I've changed a lot since then!" Zapto replied defiantly. Valmont cracked a smile. "Oh yes, maybe you have. And in that case, so has Valon." He whispered.

"Now hold on just a minute mate! You don't even know who I am!" Valon shouted back. "I know plenty. I may not be the genius that Ken once was, but I have an acute talent for seeing the darkness in others and bringing it out." Valmont replied sinisterly. "Bring out this!" Valon yelled as he charged the twisted vizier. But Valmont simply sidestepped to dodge the attack and Valon went flying into the door, knocking it open. "Now look what you've done! I suppose then that it is time that you enter the true master of this world!" Valmont said dramatically as he moved aside and lifted his arms to reveal what was happening in the next room.


	47. Chapter 46

Chapter 46- Enter the Dragon

Zapto, Blackfire, Valon, Tai, Skrub, Ken, Tai, and Gennai all walked into the next room, directly to be followed by Valmont. The room was very large and spacious, having the same general design as the main hallway. Only in this room, there was a clearly defined back wall with a horrible statue on it. It was a pale-dark green color and round in shape, but had a dragon's head and twelve octagonal indentations in the bottom half of the circle. Eleven out of the twelve indentations were filled in with a small stone that wore the image of an animal; eleven of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.

"As you can see, the complete revival of Shendu is close at hand." Valmont said smugly as he strode to the front of the room and stood next to the dragon statue. "So the legends are true!" Gennai exclaimed. "Yes, I believe so, old man. You see, Shendu was defeated ages ago by some great hero and the source of his great power, the Twelve Talismans, was also destroyed. Without the Talismans, Shendu could not maintain a living form in this world. That is why mining became such a big project; to find enough of the right kinds of minerals to construct new Talismans. So thank you Ken, your contribution was the biggest one of them all." Valmont explained. "But you only have eleven Talismans, so you must not have enough minerals for the twelfth, right?" Skrub asked. "Wrong again. You see, our craftsman is currently working on the final Talisman to complete the ritual to revive Shendu." Valmont then turned to face the statue and spoke almost to it, but loud enough so everyone else could hear. "Twelve Talismans, once they are all placed in Shendu's sealed statue, he will be reborn." Valmont said in admiration.

"Not if we destroy the statue first!" Zapto said loudly as he shot a lightning blast at Shendu's statue. But before the blast could hit its mark, a blue beam intercepted it in midair. "What was that?" Tai asked. "I'm afraid you can't win that easily." A familiar metallic voice said. Everyone looked to the right side of the room where a door was just closing after it let an unexpected visitor in. "In fact, I'm afraid it's over for you all." Metal Sonica grinned as much as a machine can as he threw up a small stone octagon in the air and then caught it. "The twelfth Talisman!" Valmont exclaimed. "But wait, how did you get a hold of that?" Tai asked. "It was too simple to land my ship nearby and just slip right in." Metal Sonica replied as he hovered over to the draconic statue of Shendu. "Now, give me the Talisman and I'll revive Shendu!" Valmont demanded. But Metal Sonica simply pushed him aside and placed the Talisman in the twelfth slot. "Now watch chaos unfold!" Metal Sonica laughed as he stepped back to watch the ritual about to unfold.

Beams of light began to shoot out of the statue and the Twelve Talismans were absorbed into the body of the statue. The circle began uncurling and the large demon's body began to take shape. Shendu was all that Gennai had described and more. It was even more evil looking in person and smoke began whispering out of its nostrils. "I'm freee!" Shendu exclaimed as he stretched to his full length of very tall. "Good luck dealing with that." Metal Sonica commented sarcastically as he hovered off through the door of which he came. Valmont on the other hand got down onto one knee and began speaking to the dragon demon. "Shendu, how good it is to see you alive!" Valmont exclaimed in admiration. Shendu roared again and then looked down to face Valmont.

"Ah yesss, it isss quite good to be back in this world again." The dragon demon replied. Then he looked to the side and saw Zapto and the group. "And who are thessse intruders? Ah Ken, how good it isss to sssee you again, though you are much weaker than before." Shendu then said to them. "I realized the error of my ways and I'm here to make things right again." Ken replied. "And the rest of us are just here to beat you!" Valon added with determination. "And what a collection of heroesss we have here. Well if a battle isss what you want, then I guesss I could ussse a little warm up." Shendu replied in his serpent-like voice. He then opened up his mouth and breathed a steady stream of fire towards the party of heroes. They scattered to dodge the attack and then began their fight for the fire planet.

Blackfire began by throwing multiple star bolts at Shendu. Shendu simply put his arm up and blocked the attack, knocking Blackfire to the ground in the process. Zapto then jumped up and attempted to throw a lightning blast at his enemy. But before he could, Shendu shot two yellow heat beams out of his eyes and hit Zapto head on. Zapto grunted and fell back to the ground. "The Talisssmansss give me so much power you can't hope to defeat me." Shendu taunted. "But we sure can try!" Valon countered as he jumped up and attempted to slash Shendu with his blade. Shendu simply smacked him down to the ground as well. "Argh, he's strong!" Valon grunted as he struggled to get up. "Let me have a shot!" Skrub demanded as he tried to shot a laser blast at Shendu. But his blaster fizzled out before the beam was fired. "Argh, it's still not working." Skrub said in frustration. Shendu laughed a little and breathed another flame wave at the heroes. "Ahaha! You cannot not defeat me, so jussst give up!" Shendu laughed at the heroes' hopeless situation.


	48. Chapter 47

Chapter 47- Kamaji's Tongs

"He might be right, how can we beat this guy?" Valon asked his comrades. "There's always a way out." Tai said encouragingly as he, Gennai, Skrub, and Ken stood by a wall because they had no weapons and no way of fighting off the great dragon demon. "Hold on, I have a plan. We'll use the same strategy as we used on Skullgreymon. Only this time, I go in for the kill while you two hold him back." Zapto whispered to Blackfire and Valon. The other two agreed and Blackfire charged at him. Focusing all of her mind to give her strength, she pushed Shendu and he staggered back a step. "Ha, puny girl, you can't hold me back. The power of the Talismansss givesss me extra ssstrength." Shendu countered as he pushed Blackfire back in midair. But Valon was also there to distract Shendu so he jumped up and slashed Shendu on the face, sending him falling back a few steps from the combined efforts of Blackfire and Valon.

It was then that Zapto saw his chance to really hit Shendu hard. He jumped up to the even level with Shendu's torso and thrust his lightning blade right into his chest. Shendu let out a beastly scream and fell back to the ground. Zapto pulled his blade out and jumped back to the ground to rejoin his other two warriors. "Did we win?" Blackfire asked. But by the sound of Valmont's evil laughter, they assumed not. And they were right because a few seconds later, Shendu opened his red eyes again and stood up. "You think you can defeat me that easssily? Then you are sssadly missstaken. The Talismans grant me not only immortality, but the ability to heal all wounds." Shendu laughed as the bleeding cut in his chest began to regenerate and heal itself.

"Ha ha, yes Shendu, your power is quite remarkable!" Valmont applauded with joy and enthusiasm. "I would not be applauding if I were you. You did very little to revive me anyway." Shendu commented with venom. "Very little? I housed you in my palace and kept you safe until the Talismans themselves were made!" Valmont protested. "Your palace? No longer, for thisss isss my palace now!" Shendu said as he breathed fire directly at the sinister figure of Valmont. The flames hit him head on and danced around in a sort of pyre until they flickered away. When the smoke was cleared, Valmont was no more. "H-how did you do that?" Skrub asked with fear. "The Talisssmansss give me virtually unlimited powersss!" Shendu replied. "In fact, I believe it isss time to end thisss fight once and for all." Shendu then said as he began to rise into the air. "He can fly too?! What powers do these Talismans no have?" Gennai asked in disbelief.

"The Talismans… That's it! I know how to defeat him!" Tai exclaimed with a stroke of enlightenment. "How? Tell us quick, mate!" Valon demanded. "All we have to do is remove the Talismans from Shendu and all of his power will be gone." Tai explained. "But how do we do that? I don't think Shendu will just give them up." Ken stated. "Maybe I can help." A new, deep voice said. The heroes looked to the right, to the door where Metal Sonica came out of, and saw a strange man standing there. His arms and legs were not clearly defined, but he had eight appendages that made him look like a spider. He had a scruffy mustache and thick black glasses over his old face and bald head and he was dressed in a long, dark purple cloak that covered most of his body and his long arms. "And who are you?" Zapto asked the old spider man. "My name is Kamaji. I used to work here in this palace as a master craftsman. When Vaati's forces arrived however, I agreed to construct the Twelve Talismans that brought back Shendu. I didn't know my work would lead to such a monstrous being. I regret ever crafting them."

"So how does that help us here?" Valon asked sarcastically. "Because I also know how to remove the Talismans from Shendu." Kamaji replied as he held up a pair of tongs that shone with a kind of good magic. "You foolish craftsssman! You can't betray me like that! I am invincccible!" Shendu said wide-eyed. "I can and I will." Kamaji replied in his deep voice. He jumped up onto Shendu's arm and tried to drive the shining tongs into his skin. But Shendu tried to swat at him and knock him off. But Kamaji was too fast as he scurried along Shendu's body and drove the magical tongs into his back. Shendu reared his head back in pain and fell back to the ground as Kamaji pulled the tongs out from his scales and dropped a small octagonal stone to the ground near Shendu's feet. "How dare you remove one of my Talisssmansss!" Shendu yelled as he tried to shake Kamaji off once more and he levitated into the air again.

"Can't… hold on… much longer." Kamaji said straining, but he pulled another Talisman out nonetheless. It fell to the ground and landed next to the other one. "Now's your chance, destroy those two Talismans!" Kamaji shouted to the heroes. "Right!" Blackfire responded as she flew over to where the two Talismans rested. One of them bore the image of a monkey and the other bore the image of a sheep. Without a second glance, Blackfire threw two star bolts, one at each Talisman, and they disintegrated into nothingness. " No! My Talisssmansss!" Shendu screamed as if he had been physically injured by the loss of his two Talismans. "Enough of thisss then!" Shendu yelled as he spun around at extremely high speeds and violently threw Kamaji off. He hit the ground with a thud and dropped his magic tongs. Blackfire flew over to him to see if he was okay. "T-take these tongs and use them to remove the remaining ten Talismans." Kamaji instructed shortly before he lost consciousness. Blackfire took the tongs and held them up. "Let's do this." Blackfire said with determination. "Then you ssshall perisssh as well!" Shendu said darkly as fire began to form around his claws and he looked at his peak of evilness.


	49. Chapter 48

Chapter 48- The Power of the Talismans

"I may have only ten Talisssmansss left, but they are the ten ssstrongessst onesss. They're more than enough to defeat you!" Shendu said to Zapto, Valon, and Blackfire who were ready to fight against the true power of the dragon demon. "I don't care how much power you have, mate. We can still beat you!" Valon said confidently and he jumped up to slash Shendu. "Foolisssh human! Have you not realized yet that petty attacksss like that do not work on me?" Shendu mocked in an evil tone. Shendu smacked him aside with a swing of his mighty claws and sent him smashing into a wall. "Gah, he's strong!" Valon said. "Ah, yes, I believe it isss time for you to sssee the true power of the Talisssmansss." Shendu said ominously. Suddenly, Shendu disappeared before everyone's eyes. "Where did he go?" Zapto asked. "Ah, the power of the sssnake Talisssman givesss me the power of invisssiblity." The voice of Shendu said. But no one could see where he was until suddenly a ball of fire appeared and scorched the ground around Zapto and Blackfire.

"Then how can we beat him if we don't know where he is?" Valon asked as he rose to his feet and rejoined the fight. "Ah, but you can't. There isss no hope for your victory." The serpent-like voice said as a beam of yellow heat nailed Blackfire in the back. "There has to be a way to know where he is before he attacks." Ken commented. "Wait a minute, I have an idea!" Zapto exclaimed as he charged up a large ball of lightning energy in his hands. He then threw it up into the air, almost hitting the ceiling of the room, and let all of the electricity spread throughout the room. The lightning surged everywhere and eventually hit the target it was meant to hit. Shendu roared in pain as the lightning surged through him and he became visible again.

"Now's my chance!" Blackfire exclaimed as she flew as fast as she could over to wear Shendu was levitating and drove Kamaji's shining tongs into the dragon's scales. He soon saw Blackfire hovering over him, and despite the lightning, he smacked Blackfire aside anyway. She flew back from the impact, but not as far as Valon had earlier. "He's not as strong anymore!" Blackfire exclaimed as she gazed at the Talisman she held in her hand. She only saw its ox design right before she blasted it into oblivion. "No, my sssuper ssstrength!" Shendu cried out as soon as the tenth Talisman was no more. The lightning storm stopped and Blackfire realized she had an advantage. She flew right up to his face and punched him as hard as she could. Her alien strength gave her the edge she needed now that Shendu had lost a Talisman and was now reduced to nine.

"Ssstrength meansss nothing! I can ssstill defeat you otherwise." Shendu said in retaliation as he shot another heat beam out of his eyes towards Blackfire. "I think it's time for the tide of the battle to change!" She exclaimed confidently as she charged up a beam of star bolts and shot them to counteract Shendu's heat beam. But before she threw the bolts, she tossed the magical tongs down to where Zapto and Valon were standing. Zapto caught it and nodded at Valon as a sign to go in for the kill. The two male heroes jumped up to Shendu's legs and Zapto jabbed the tongs into his knee while he was still preoccupied with fighting Blackfire. He pulled the tongs out and tossed a Talisman over to Valon. "Good show, that's the snake one! Now he can't be invisible!" Valon exclaimed as he slashed the Talisman to dust with a swipe of his blade. "I-I can't hold on much longer!" Blackfire said in a struggle. Zapto realized the need to hurry and thrust the tongs into Shendu again. "Enough of thisss!" Shendu growled as he threw a fire ball at Blackfire that put an end to her struggle and sent her falling to the ground.

But not before Zapto removed the tongs contained another Talisman. This time, an image of a horse was on the octagonal stone. But the image was not appreciated for long as Valon quickly slashed it apart. "Ah, now I can't heal myssself! A thousssand cursssesss on you for that!" Shendu growled as he spun at a very high speed and shook Zapto off of him. "How does he spin so fast?" Gennai asked from the sidelines. "It must be one of the Talisman powers. Who knows what the remaining seven can do?" Ken commented. "Ah indeed and it'sss time to ssshow of another one." Shendu commented as he flew around the room in a circle at very high speeds. "Super speed, that must another Talisman power." Skrub commented. Occasionally, a blast of fire was launched at the heroes who were usually unable to dodge the fast attacks. "How do we stop this?" Zapto asked after getting nailed by a fire blast.

"I'd say trip him, but he can fly… That's it! Try to trip him in the air with your attacks!" Tai suggested. "That might work! Tai, you always have the best ideas!" Zapto said encouragingly as he threw a steady whip of lightning at a section of air in the whirring path of Shendu. But instead of running into it as planned, he turned sharply and stopped right in front of Zapto and shot a heat beam directly at him. "Ag!" Zapto yelled as he went flying back. But Valon took advantage of the moment of non movement on Shendu's part and snatched the magic tongs from the air and landed on Shendu's back. "Gottcha, mate!" Valon exclaimed as he ripped a rabbit-embedded Talisman from Shendu's back and destroyed it with a quick slash of his blade. Immediately, Shendu's movement's seemed to slow down and he was forced to change tactics once again.

"I'm ssstill invincible and have sssix Talisssmansss left!" Shendu said as he flew up to the very top of the room and began to rain down fire blasts at the ground where the heroes were. "I can still get him up there. Leave this part of the fight to me." Blackfire commanded as she took the tongs from Valon and took to the skies after Shendu. Up in the air, she dodged the fire being rained down and punched Shendu in the face at the top. He let out a roar and went pummeling to the ground. Along the descent, Blackfire plucked another Talisman out of him with the magic tongs. She then quickly disintegrated the Talisman, which bore the image of a rooster and gave Shendu the power of flight. Shendu hit the ground with a bang and Blackfire flew down slowly, unscathed. "It'sss not over yet." Shendu said with much less confidence now that he was down to a measly five Talismans, less than half of his original power.

"I ssstill have a few tricks up my sleeve!" Shendu said as multiple black circles began to form on the ground. "What is this? There are so many black shadows being formed!" Gennai exclaimed. "Ah, it isss time for you to face the reassson why I am called the massster of ssshadows." Shendu said darkly as the shadows began to materialize and a new stage in the battle began.


	50. Chapter 49

Chapter 49- The Shadowkahn Hoard

Within a few moments, all of the black shadows completely materialized into the same flying Shadowkahn that the heroes saw earlier outside of the palace. They had the same basic build as the other Shadowkahn, only these Shadowkahn had two legs, sharp claws, and dark wings protruding out of their backs. "Ah, now let'sss sssee if you can defeat all of my Ssshadowkahn as well asss myssself." Shendu said as he silently commanded his small army of shadow beings to attack. "Alright, mates we can take these guys down just like the rest of 'em!" Valon said confidently as he charged a few Shadowkahn. Zapto and Blackfire followed suit and started fighting the Shadowkahn while still trying to dodge Shendu's fire attacks and heat beam eyes. "Shendu must be running out of options if he's using the Shadowkahn instead of his own force." Ken stated to the small group on the sidelines. "Well he only has five Talismans left, so he must be much weaker than before." Tai agreed.

"Ah, no matter what the cccircumssstances, you ssstill can't defeat me." Shendu said between fire blasts as Zapto, Blackfire, and Valon fought off the Shadowkahn. The Shadowkahn tried to slash at the heroes many times, and succeeded a few times as well, but the heroes were just too strong for the shadows to overcome. When Shendu saw that he only had a few of them left, he decided he needed reinforcements. "Imposssible! But no matter for I can create more!" Shendu shouted as he called more Shadowkahn out of the darkness. But Zapto and his forces were just too strong. "Alright, enough is enough!" Blackfire shouted as she jumped free of the Shadowkahn they were fighting and flew at Shendu holding the magical tongs. "No!" Shendu shouted as a single Shadowkahn flew up to protect his master. But Blackfire threw him into Shendu's face, dissipating it and stunning Shendu for a brief moment.

But that moment was all she needed as she drove the shining tongs into Shendu's upper arm and pulled out a Talisman. I was probably the most valuable one of them all, for it held the image of a dog on it and contained the power of immortality. Shendu let out another draconic roar when he felt its power gone and it was gone for good when Blackfire destroyed it. Shocked deeply at its loss, Blackfire saw another opportunity to take another Talisman. This time she pulled out the one that had the image of a pig on it and quickly destroyed it, releasing his power over heat beam eyes. "No, thisss isss enough!" Shendu yelled as he violently threw Blackfire away. Immediately after, the remaining Shadowkahn all disappeared into the floor from whence they came.

"What's going on? Did we win, mates?" Valon asked at the sudden retreat. "I don't know. Shendu has only three Talismans left, so maybe he's too weak to maintain control over the Shadowkahn." Blackfire offered. "Ah ha ha! You are incorrect, humansss! My power over the shadowsss isss unlimited!" Shendu yelled as a very large black shadow formed underneath him. "What's going on?" Zapto asked. But with the sound of Shendu's evil serpent laughter, he soon got his answer. The Shadowkahn came out of the ground and flooded all around him, creating a virtual suit of shadow armor around him. But it didn't stop there as three octagonal stones floated on the chest of the armor temporarily before they were again submerged into his fluid-like shadow armor. "The lassst three Talisssmansss are the mossst powerful! The dragon givesss me massstery over fire. The rat maintainsss my physssical form. And the tiger givesss me control over both light and shadowsss!" Shendu explained naming the three remaining images of his three remaining Talismans.

"Oh no, he must be unstoppable now!" Gennai exclaimed. "They've gotten this far, so I know they can finish this fight." Tai replied confidently. "But the situation doesn't look good." Ken stated as he gazed at Shendu's new form. "They can still pull through though. Maybe…" Skrub trailed off as he began tinkering with the broken armor on his arm. Back to the main fight, Zapto, Blackfire, and Valon stared at the new form of their attacker. "Ah, puny humansss, cower before my new form!" Shendu gloated. "There's always a way to win." Zapto said as he threw a bolt of lightning at the fluid shadow armor of Shendu. The bolt hit its mark on Shendu's chest, but the attack did very little damage. "Ah, your attacksss are worthlessss against me!" Shendu said as he threw a fire blast directly at the three heroes. This time they were unable to dodge and the flames blazed around them.

"Now it'sss time to end thisss!" Shendu shouted as he lunged forward to deliver the final blow to the battle. His body was literally on fire and the red of the flames mixed with the black color of the shadows to create a truly terrifying creature. But right before the demon reached the fearful faces of the three heroes, he reeled back in pain, as if he just got shot in the back. "End this!" Skrub yelled as he shot another beam from his newly repaired arm blaster. "Skrub, you fixed your armor!" Zapto exclaimed in surprise. "Just enough to distract Shendu for a second. Strike now!" Skrub commanded as Shendu turned his head back to strike Skrub down.

But Blackfire took the brief moment of distraction to fly at Shendu and rip a Talisman out with the magic tongs. This time, she really hit a winner as the Talisman she pulled had the image of a rat on it, the Talisman that kept Shendu from reverting back to his statue form. "Nooo! My powers… They're gone!" Shendu roared in extreme pain as the shadows around him began to fade away. When they were all dissipated, the two remaining Talismans appeared on Shendu's chest: the dragon and the tiger. As Shendu writhed in agony, the Dragon Talisman on his chest crumbled to dust. Immediately, the fires around him stopped and then Shendu himself began to fade away at the extremities. "Ah… I may have been defeated, but I'll take a part of you with me. I'll leave you to ssscream…" Shendu trailed off as a beam of black and white energy was fired from the Tiger Talisman straight at Zapto. Zapto let out a short scream, and then he lost consciousness. "Zapto!" Blackfire called as she ran to him. "Ah…" Shendu trailed off for the last time before he was completely gone forever.


	51. Chapter 50

Chapter 50- Zapto's Nightmare

When Zapto opened his eyes, he was surprised to find that he was in a much different place than where he lost consciousness. Instead of being in the main room of Moltro's palace, he was lying in the street in front of his own palace, the same place where he and his friends first fought Jinzo's army. "H-how did I get here?" Zapto asked himself as he rose to his feet. The streets were deserted and there was absolutely no wind blowing. "A ha ha ha! Welcome back, Zapto." A familiar voice called out from the direction of the palace. Zapto turned and saw a much familiar boy who previously had control over his own planet. Leaning against one of the pillars outside of the palace entrance, was Noah Kaiba himself. "Noah, what's going on?" Zapto asked the blue-haired young man.

"Now, Zapto, is that any way to greet an old friend?" Noah taunted as he began to walk down the steps toward Zapto. "All I know Noah is that we were fighting Shendu and then he hit me with some kind of beam that knocked me out. When I woke up, I was laying here. What happened?" Zapto asked, now starting to get annoyed. "I suppose I might as well tell you." Noah said indifferently and then he began. "Well if it makes you feel any better, you hero fools managed to defeat Shendu, so congratulations there. But it was all in vain, for on his dying breath, Shendu sent a very cursed beam right at you." Noah began to explain as he pointed at the Zapto, now that he was standing on even ground as him. "What does that mean?" Zapto asked the now ominous sounding Noah.

"If you'll be quiet a moment, I'll tell you. You see, Shendu's Talismans gave him many different powers: super speed, super strength, flight, invisibility, and even the power to manipulate fire, among others. But probably the most powerful and mysterious power was the Tiger Talisman. While it may be true that the Tiger Talisman let Shendu create and control his Shadowkahn, it also has another, very interesting power. If it fires a beam at someone, their body and spirit will be split into two different people: one person good, and the other pure evil." Noah explained. "So you mean that I'll be split into two different people?" Zapto asked in disbelief. "That's exactly right. Even now it should be beginning to take effect…"

Meanwhile…

"Zapto, please wake up." Blackfire said as she shook the unconscious hero. "I don't know what happened to ya mate, but it's getting me kinda worried. Wake up!" Valon shouted as he shook Zapto violently. "Congratulations on beating Shendu though." Tai said positively as he and the other observers walked over to where Blackfire, Valon, and the unconscious Zapto sat. It was indeed confirmed that Shendu was beat after he totally disappeared and his remaining Talismans crumbled to infinite dust. "What's wrong with Zapto here?" Gennai asked. "I don't know; he got hit with some kind of beam and he hasn't woken up since." Blackfire replied. At about this time, a grunt was heard as a different man came back to reality.

"Oh, what happened? Has Shendu been defeated?" Kamaji asked as he rose to his feet again. "Yes, Shendu has been defeated. Thank you for your help." Ken responded. "Hmm, that's good. What happened to this young man?" Kamaji then asked. "He was hit with some kind of beam right before Shendu disappeared." Blackfire answered. "Did the beam come from a Talisman that looked like a tiger?" Kamaji asked with a ting of fear in his voice. "Yes, I think so." Blackfire answered. "Oh, that's not good." Kamaji asked. He was about to explain why, but then Zapto's whole body began glowing. "Wha… What's going on?" Blackfire asked in a bit of a panic. "Hmm, I think I should explain…" Kamaji began.

Meanwhile…

"So just when am I going to split in two?" Zapto asked still trying to get a grasp of what Noah was saying. "I suppose it'll happen when we're done here." Noah replied indifferently. "What does that mean?" "A ha ha ha! Haven't you figured it out by now? This vision of your palace, it's all an illusion. You were knocked unconscious by the Tiger Talisman's beam. In other words, you're just dreaming!" Noah laughed. "If I'm just dreaming, then why are you here?" Zapto then asked Noah. "Well to be quite honest, I'm not actually the physical form of Noah, I'm just another dream image caused by your mind." Noah somewhat explained.

"Then why am I dreaming? What's the point of this?" Zapto asked. "Perhaps it's time to begin then. This dream is part of the splitting process; the process of separating your light, from your darkness. So in other words, I'm going to help bring out the dark side of you by making you re-live certain parts of your past." Noah explained. Then he held out both of his arms and suddenly, the scene around them changed. Instead of standing outside of Zapto's palace, they were floating in the air above the same room where Zapto and Kaiba fought Noah not too long ago. Only this time, there was a rather large starship sitting inside of it. It was long and a light golden color and had no name written on any side of it. Coming down the ramp that protruded from the ship was what appeared to be a younger version of Zapto. He appeared to be about twelve years old and he was escorted by a much older man and woman. The man had a full goatee, but very little hair on the top of his head. He wore a long gold and purple cloak and overall gave off an air of great power and influence. The older woman was much like the man, except she had a gold and purple dress and had long brown hair.

"Are you ready, son? It's time to take your first look at your future planet. Someday you'll rule the whole place." The older man said to the younger version of Zapto. "Yes, father, I'm looking forward to it." Young Zapto replied with a somewhat dark smile. "Do you remember what you were feeling at this time, Zapto?" Noah asked the present-day Zapto. "Yes." Zapto quietly replied. "Well then why don't you tell me what that is?" Noah laughed in reply. "I really wanted that control, that power." "A ha ha, that's an understatement! That's all you cared about at the time! You simply wanted that power." Noah laughed and the image of younger Zapto and his parents faded away. The next scene took place in the same room, however the people in it were different. Instead of Zapto's parents and their ship, Zapto, a few years older, stood alone in the room with his ship and Espa Roba, Zapto's own vizier.

"You called for me, Zapto?" Espa Roba asked. "Yes, it seems our military is getting too large for you and me to control along with everything else." Zapto responded. "I have an idea. Why don't I put out an application and try to hire someone to be in charge of it?" Espa Roba replied. Slightly younger Zapto thought for a moment. "That might be a good idea. Yes please do that, but find someone loyal and trustworthy." He answered. "I won't let you down." Espa Roba replied and then he walked out of the room. "Do you remember why you wanted someone trustworthy and loyal?" Noah asked the current Zapto. "Yes, I didn't want anyone to overthrow me." Zapto replied flatly and with a ting of regret. "A ha ha, exactly!" Noah replied as the scene changed again.

This time, Zapto and Noah were floating above a mountain range, the same ones where Kaiba and they met the Ultimate Dragon not too long ago. Incidentally, Seto Kaiba and Zapto, only about two years younger than the current Zapto, were walking through the mountains talking. "Now remember, Kaiba, this tribe can be dangerous, so be careful with dealing with them." Younger Zapto advised. "Yes, I know." Kaiba replied. "But still do whatever you have to do to defeat them and calm their rebellion." Zapto added. "You were going off to deal with a rebellious tribe, don't you remember Zapto?" Noah asked. "Yes, I remember. I wanted to protect my city, so I sent Kaiba, Seto, on his first mission to go deal with them. But I'm sure you view it as an act of tyranny" Zapto replied. "A ha ha, now you're starting to get it! You were indeed on the road to tyranny, until Vaati and I intervened." Noah laughed.

"Yes, but you may also remember that I changed when I fled my planet to stay on Tamaran with Blackfire." Zapto countered. "Yes, while that may be true, feelings like that never truly go away. They just get buried deep into you." Noah replied. Zapto remained silent for a moment and Noah took advantage of that. "And it is on that note, that this little dreaming montage ends and the split can begin!" Noah said as he reached for Zapto and everything went black.


	52. Chapter 51

Chapter 51- Brothers, My Brothers

"So you're saying Zapto is going to split into two people; a good one and an evil one?!" Blackfire asked in disbelief at Kamaji's explanation of the Tiger Talisman's power. "Yes, that is indeed what will happen." Kamaji replied as Zapto continued to glow with a mysterious light. Suddenly, Zapto's glowing pulsations grew faster. "What's going on, mate?" Valon asked in a bit of a panic. "Hmm, Zapto's split is about to happen." Kamaji replied. Suddenly, a bright flash of light occurred, temporarily blinding everyone around. When the light stopped, there were two figures lying where one Zapto used to be. One figure was exactly the same as the original Zapto. But the other one looked a little different. His hair was much darker, almost black, but with a touch of yellow, as were his eyes, and his overall appearance seemed darker as well. At almost the exact same moment, they both woke up.

"Zapto, you're back!" Blackfire exclaimed as she threw herself into his arms. He returned the embrace, but then noticed his darker twin next to him. "W-where am I? W-what's going on?" The new, darker Zapto asked no one in particular. "You are the manifestation of darkness. And you're coming with me." A metallic voice said as small, metal, hedgehog-shaped figure reappeared in the doorway to the right of the room. Everyone turned to face Metal Sonica as he hovered more into the room. "Aw, come on mate, another fight!" Valon somewhat complained, but got his blade out nonetheless. "Hmph, actually I don't think another fight is necessary." Metal Sonica said as he raised his arm and shot a bright flash of light that blinded all those in the room. When everyone could see again, Metal Sonica and the dark Zapto were gone.

"Well at least that was fairly easy." Skrub said optimistically. "Yea, and who really needs your dark side anyway. It makes everything easier if ya ask me." Valon added. "Yea, maybe you're right. But we do still have one issue we need to deal with." Zapto said as he got up and walked over to Kamaji. "Ah, I bet I know what you want. You want to know where your brother is." Kamaji said to Zapto. Zapto shook his head and Kamaji walked over to the spot in the wall covered with a large red banner. He moved the banner aside and pushed a hidden button. Right away, another wall, the one where Shendu's statue once was hung, separated and revealed a hidden room in the back. "Your brother is in there. I'm sorry, but I can not lead you into there. Go in peace my friends." Kamaji told them and then he walked off through the only other door.

"I guess there's nothing left to do then than go check it out." Gennai said as he and the others gazed into the hidden room. "Yes, let's go." Blackfire said as she and Zapto led the way. When they got inside, they saw a very simple set up. The room had no windows and no doors and only a few red banners decorated its walls. At the end of the short hallway was a large red crystal, big enough for a person to fit inside. There was a small set of stairs leading up to the crystal like a podium and there was also a man in a green suit tied up with a rope sitting on the steps. He mumbled something, because his mouth was taped shut, but as the heroes got closer, they recognized the man whom they thought was gone.

"Valmont! I thought Shendu destroyed you!" Gennai exclaimed as the entire party ran to the man's aide. He looked a little different than the Valmont they knew before. His eyes were a lighter color and overall, he looked less evil. Valmont mumbled again and Skrub ripped the tape from his mouth so he could talk. "Ouch, that tape quite hurt! But thank you for saving me anyways." Valmont said in his familiar British accent. "What happened to you? I thought you were out there trying to bring back Shendu." Ken said to Valmont. "What? Oh that was just a big misunderstanding! You see, Vaati brought that accursed Shendu statue to this palace and used this little tiger stone to split me into two people. They locked me up here and let my evil side run around the palace free in my place. Now can you please untie me!" Valmont explained and then demanded. "Of course." Blackfire offered as she cut the ropes with a star bolt.

"Ah thank you. Now I think you'll want to free the real head honcho of this palace. Moltro is imprisoned in this large red crystal here, but I'm not sure how to get him out." Valmont conceded. "Well I'm sure we can figure it out. A good knock is probably all it needs." Valon suggested as he slipped out his arm blade. "Actually I have a better idea." Zapto said as he put his arm in front of Valon to stop him. Instead, he unsheathed his Lightning Sword and purged it right into the top of the crystal. Right away a sharp red beam of light escaped the crystal and then there was a bright red flash. When the light cleared, the crystal lay shattered across the floor and a young man was standing in its place. He had short spiked hair that was as red as his shirt. He wore a small black cape and red sandals. Attached to his belt was a sheathed sword that had a weak fiery glow to it.

"Moltro!" Zapto exclaimed as he ran to hug his brother. "Zapto, it's good to see you again. Thanks for saving me!" The man called Moltro replied as he returned the embrace. The two brothers let go and rejoined the main group. "Everyone, I would like to introduce my brother Moltro." Zapto introduced and everyone returned the greeting. "And it's good to be back. Wow we have a lot of catching up to do, but I'd like to go somewhere more comfortable to do it." Moltro suggested. "I'll prepare a grand feast for you, sir!" Valmont offered. "That would be great. Come on everyone, follow me!" Moltro said as he led the way across his palace.


	53. Chapter 52

Chapter 52- Valon's Confession

The hallway they were all sitting in was just as elaborate as all the other halls, only this one had a long table sitting in it. Seated at the table were Zapto, Blackfire, Valon, Gennai, Tai, Skrub, Ken, Valmont, and Moltro at the head. "Alright, so tell me brother all about your adventures." Moltro asked of Zapto. Zapto and his friends explained all of the adventures that they had been through up to this point. "Wow, that's quite an interesting story." Moltro commented when Zapto finished his tale. "Yea, it was hard being imprisoned for so long. I didn't even know what hit us until Vaati's forces marched up to our door and stormed the palace. But it looks like I'm not the only one in trouble." Moltro then said. "Yes, there are still two of your siblings imprisoned on their planets." Blackfire commented. Moltro and Zapto nodded in unison.

"Then I guess we should be heading out soon." Moltro commented. "Yea, I think we should head to Artia's planet next before tackling Vaati's headquarters on our fourth brother's planet." Zapto suggested. "Hmm, brother, have you been the only one having that memory problem?" Moltro asked. "Hmm, yes, I thought it was just me, but I guess I'm not the only one who can't remember our fourth brother's name." Zapto replied. "Hmm, that is indeed strange." Moltro stated. No one had anything else to say on the matter, so they just remained silent.

"But somehow that reminds me, Valon you look familiar somehow, but I can't seem to remember where." Moltro said. Valon looked at the table silently for a moment and then gave his answer. "Mates, I have a bit of a confession to make." Valon said in almost a whisper. "Oh, what is it? It can't be that bad." Skrub asked. "Actually, mates, it kinda is. Moltro, you probably have seen me before… on a wanted poster." Valon said as everyone looked shocked. "What do you mean, Valon?" Zapto asked. "Well ya see mates, when I was just a kid; I guess you could say I got into the wrong crowd. Ya see, I was born right here on this planet, in a town pretty far from here. My family was poor and my father died when I was very young. So I did all that I could to help support my family in my young age. Unfortunately, what I did do was not altogether moral, or legal. I got mixed up in this gang of thieves called the Fire Bandits and we roamed the countryside pillaging villages and taking whatever we could get our hands on. In time, I just forgot my family and rose up in the ranks of the Fire Bandits." Valon paused for a moment and then continued.

"But not too long ago, our leader mysteriously left us and most of us just didn't know what to do. So we basically fell apart. I didn't have any other job experience, so I just roamed the area until one day a ship landed on a field near me so I went to check it out. That's when I met Alister. His ship was broken and he wasn't very experienced with mechanics, so I gave it a try. I found out I was a natural and soon Alister offered me a job. I'm been his assistant ever since I ran into you guys on Zapto's planet. I hope you can all forgive me. Seriously mates, I've gone respectable now!" Valon begged with remorse in his face as everyone watched him.

"Of course we can forgive you. What are friends for?" Tai said lovingly. "Yea, after all we've been through, how could we not forgive you?" Blackfire pitched in. "Thanks, mates. You guys are the best friends a guy could have." Valon said all choked up. "Now wait just a second, I have something to say." Moltro said as he stood up. He cleared his throat and then continued. "The police on this planet have been trying to track down the Fire Bandits for years. And now that we have one of them in our grasp, I just can't let you go." Moltro said with authority. "Moltro, wait! This young man helped save your life!" Gennai said with a bit of anger in his voice. "Let me finish! Valon, since you've been with the Fire Bandits, you can lead us to the others because you know all of their tricks, and that's an opportunity I just can't pass up. So I'm afraid I just can't let you go." "Moltro, seriously have a heart!" Zapto commented. "Did I say I was done? Valon, what I mean is that I can't let you go without offering you a job as the Chief of Police for my planet. What do you say?" Moltro finished with a smile.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and Valon looked up ecstatically. "Of course mate, I'd love to help you out! Thanks a whole lot!" Valon answered with gratitude. "That's good news. It's going to be a little shorthanded here without me anyway." Moltro said happily. "You can't mean your leaving to go with them to the ice planet?" Valmont asked his master in disbelief. "Of course, my sister Artia is frozen in crystal on her own chilly planet and you think I'm just going to sit here and wait? In fact, ready my ship, we're leaving tomorrow morning for the ice planet!" Moltro commanded and everyone exclaimed a shout a joy. Finally, two siblings were saved, and only two more to go. Their quest was halfway done.


	54. Chapter 53

Chapter 53- Intermission to the Stars

While Zapto, Moltro, and Blackfire were making their final preparations for their journey, _The Rocket Ziggurat _was approaching an unknown space station on another side of the galaxy. The station itself was circular in shape, but not very large; only big enough to dock about two small ships. Luckily, Alister's ship fit the bill perfectly. His ship landed on an interior platform in the space station and the air lock was closed, making it safe for those on board to enter the station. The hatch opened and the ramp hit the floor as Alister came walking out of his ship, cape flowing. Walking out of an automatic sliding door on the other side of the docking bay was another young man, probably about age twenty, with strange blue hair and a futuristic outfit. He had blue, piercing eyes and a flat smile across his mouth.

"Welcome back, Alister." The young blue-haired man said flatly to his visitor. "It's good to be back, Saturn." Alister replied as he shook hands with the blue-haired man. The two then turned and headed through the door into the main part of the station. They walked through a long hallway and continued their conversation. "So how did you're little operation go?" The blue-haired man apparently named Saturn asked. "Ha ha it went perfectly! In fact, they're waiting in the ship right now." Alister laughed in reply. Saturn stopped for a moment and looked directly at his comrade. "You mean you really pulled it off? Well good job." He said and then they continued walking. When they got to the end of the hallway, another automatic door opened. The two stepped into what appeared to be the command deck of the space station. It had many flashing computers and a viewing screen that currently showed only endless space.

"Well since things have gone so well for you Alister, I think we should move on with our little excursion, don't you think?" Saturn asked his comrade. "Yes, I think you're right. I've fulfilled my part of the bargain, so now its time for you to pay up." Alister replied. Saturn was about to make a reply, but at that moment the sliding door opened again and a young, preteen girl came running in. She had very long pink hair that was tied into two ponytails and bright green eyes and wore the same kind of futuristic outfit that Saturn had on, but she definitely looked more stylish with her green hair ties and overall pop star demeanor. "Saturn, what's with all this noise, I'm like totally trying to take a nap?!" The preteen girl demanded, but then she saw Alister standing there and suddenly looked happy again. "Oh Alister, you're like totally back! I like totally missed you!" The girl exclaimed. "Thanks, it's good to be back, Lovrina. Now we can finally proceed with our plans." Alister replied. "Oh, yea, that's right. You two like have some kind of master plan or something. Well like good luck with that! I'll be like in my room totally sleeping." The girl, apparently named Lovrina, said as she walked back through the door.

"Hmph, she can be annoying sometimes." Alister commented. "Yes, but she's special to me, so leave her alone." Saturn countered. "Whatever you say." Alister replied. Saturn walked over to his computer and hit some buttons. "Well before we can leave, I'd like you to finish your part of the deal: Lead me to Starfire." Saturn demanded. "Of course, they're still in the ship. You want me to bring them out?" Alister asked. Saturn thought for a moment and then gave his reply. "Actually, for now just bring me into your ship to see them." He replied. "Alright then, follow me." Alister said as he walked out the door back to the hanger where his ship was. The ramp was still down, so the two walked right up and into the main room of the ship where Robin and Starfire were still tied to the wall. "Oh, how unfortunate, we got an extra person." Saturn said disappointingly. "And just who are you?" Robin asked angrily at his blue-haired enemy. "My name is Saturn, but I could really care less about who you are." He replied to the masked hero. He then paused for a moment and turned to Starfire. "But you on the other hand, I am glad to see." Saturn said and he extended his hand for a handshake. But he pulled it back when he realized that she could not shake back because her arms were tied up.

"Well I must admit this is a little awkward, you being tied up and all." Saturn said flatly. "What do you want with me?" Starfire asked her captors. "Why, it's actually quite simple. I wanted to meet you." Saturn answered. "What do you mean?" Starfire asked again. "Yea, what's the big idea? You can't just tie us up and expect us to be friendly with you." Robin interrupted loudly. "You know, there's no need to shout. In fact, you're getting to be quite annoying. Alister, if you would, please release the girl, but keep the masked boy here." Saturn asked his comrade. "Sure thing." Alister replied as he hit a button on the wall. Immediately, the ties binding Starfire retracted back into the wall and she was free. Suddenly, she jumped up, her eyes lit up with green energy and she charged Saturn with charged up fists. Reacting to this sudden movement, Saturn grabbed her arm and twisted it so that Starfire could not retaliate.

"As you can see, resistance is not advised." Saturn said as he let go of Starfire's hurting wrist. "H-how did you do that?" Starfire asked him. "Hmm, I can do many things you may think I can't. Alister, please show our guest to her room. Put her in the one next to Lovrina's." Saturn again asked his comrade. "No problem." Alister replied as he grabbed Starfire's arm and tried to lead her out of the ship. But Starfire still had some fight left in her and threw a weak star bolt at Alister's back making him falter for a moment. But Saturn quickly turned to her and threw a blue oval of energy at her, making her let out a quick yelp, and then fall unconscious. "That should make it easier to transport her." Saturn said calmly. "How did you do that one? Was that a star bolt?" Robin asked in disbelief. "It's none of your concern." Saturn replied as Alister picked up the unconscious Starfire and carried her out of the ship. "Hmm, hmm, have a good night." Saturn chuckled to himself as he also began to walk out. "Wait! You can't just leave me in here!" Robin shouted at his captor. "Just watch me." Saturn replied sarcastically as he walked out of the ship and followed Alister to the living quarters.


	55. Chapter 54

Chapter 54- SAS Proofs

After Alister had laid Starfire down in her new room, he walked back to the main control room where Saturn was waiting. "Alright, she's safe in there. They'll be no escape either." Alister told his comrade. "Excellent, as soon as she wakes up I want to go in there and talk with her." Saturn responded. "You can do whatever you want. I on the other hand am going to go take a rest. I hope we'll be on course by the time I wake up." Alister said as he began to walk out of the room. "What's the hurry, Alister? You know you can't get what you want until Blackfire and her little friends have obtained all four swords." Saturn replied and Alister stopped walking and turned around. "You don't think I know that? But I still want to be nearby when they do so." Alister said as he turned around again, and this time, walked out all the way, leaving Saturn alone to his computers. He pressed a couple of buttons and then walked to the window.

"All my life, I waited for these moments. And now one of them is coming true." Saturn whispered to himself. He was probably going to say more, but he was interrupted by a certain pink haired girl entering the room. "Saturn, is there like totally another person in the room next to mine? She's like totally making a lot of noise in there. You like might want to check it out." Lovrina said to him. "You mean she's awake! Of course, I'll be in there in a few moments." Saturn replied as his face lit up with happiness and anticipation. Lovrina walked out and Saturn smiled to himself. "It's show time." He chuckled to himself, but overall missing the humor in the line.

He too walked out of the room and began down a hallway to the right. When he got to the second door on the right, he pressed in a combination code on the panel on the wall and the door slid open. Starfire was in the room apparently trying to break free with some star bolts, but she stopped dead in her tracks when Saturn entered the room. "Greetings, again. I hope this time we can have a much more civilized conversation. Please sit down." Saturn offered, motioning to the bed behind Starfire. The room itself was rather simple. It had a small bed on one side, a table with two chairs on the other, and hardly anything in between. "What is it that you want?" Starfire asked as she took him up on the offer and sat down on the bed. Saturn reached behind him and pulled over a chair and sat down on it. "Didn't I say it before? All I really want to do is meet you." Saturn replied. "But why? What did I ever do to you? I've never even seen you before." Starfire said curiously.

"I know we've never met, but believe me, I do know quite a bit about you." Saturn said ominously, and almost sadly. He cleared his throat and then continued. "I know this may be hard to believe, but in reality, we are actually blood related." Saturn revealed. "But… But that's impossible! I've never had any brothers before! Why is it that I've never seen you around the palace then?" Starfire asked in disbelief. "It's a bit of a sad story, and I've never told it to anyone, but I'll try my best to explain it to you." Saturn sighed. "You see, your father, our father, was married once before, before he married you mother. Originally, he lived at the palace with my mother. As a result, I was born. That's how I've gained my Tamaranian powers. However, when I was about three years old, my mother died and our father saw another woman and married her in my mother's place. Our father tried as hard as he could to forget all about my mother, and unfortunately, I was part of those memories. It wasn't easy for him to do, but he left me with visitors from another planet. They took me to their planet and I grew up as part of their family. But I've always wanted to know my real family. I heard that our father had two other daughters and ever since then I've obsessed about meeting you and Blackfire." Saturn finished.

"That's so sad; you've never known your real family. Well then hello, brother, welcome to the family." Starfire smiled as she extended her hand. Saturn looked at her for a moment and then smiled and shook her hand. Suddenly, the door to the room opened and Lovrina came in. "Saturn, I'm like so totally happy for you! You've like totally found your real family! But you won't like totally forget us right?" Lovrina said happily and then with anticipation. "Of course not, you are still my family too." Saturn replied and then saw Starfire's confused look and explained. "Lovrina here was my adopted sister in my other family." He explained. Everyone smiled until Alister walked in through the hallway. "Well this is such a touching moment, but we still have an agreement." Alister said impatiently. Saturn looked at him slightly angrily, but then cracked a smile. "Of course, Alister. You've been a big help to me. So as a sign of thanks I'll go right away and put us on course. But in the mean time, could you go and release that masked boy from your ship? Bring him into this same room right here." Saturn asked. "Of course, I'll go do that right away." Alister replied as he stepped out the door.

"Alister's a good friend. I ran into him while I was visiting Tamaran right not too long ago. We both wanted something, so we decided to help each other out." Saturn explained to Starfire. "I know you wanted to meet me, but what did Alister want?" Starfire asked. "Alister is after some kind of power source on another planet, but he needed my expertise at navigation to help him get there. He's a good pilot, but not so good at finding directions to a place. Actually, I think he said the planet was a hidden one, and I just couldn't pass up the challenge." Saturn explained with a smile. "Wait, did you say a hidden planet? And a power source?" Saturn, I think there may be a problem…" Starfire began, but was interrupted by Alister and Robin entering the room.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone. Goodbye for now!" Saturn said happily, ignoring Starfire's last remark. He and Lovrina left the room, leaving Starfire and Robin alone. Walking back to the bridge, Alister couldn't help but make a few sarcastic comments at Saturn. "What a total change of character for you, Saturn! You were all calm and secluded until Starfire showed up." Alister said. "Oh shut up, you're just jealous of my happiness." Saturn replied flatly, but with a hint of sarcastic happiness behind it. "I could care less about your happiness as long as we arrive on that planet safe and sound." Alister remarked as they both arrived in the bridge. "Of course, I'll set the coordinates for the ice planet where Blackfire and her friends are right away" Saturn responded as he hit a few buttons on the keyboard and the space station jumped into hyperspace.


	56. Chapter 55

Chapter 55- Final Space Battle

"Alright, the autopilot's on and we should arrive on Artia's planet within a few hours." Moltro said as he walked through the cockpit door back into the main waiting room where Zapto and Blackfire were sitting. The outside of Moltro's ship looked exactly like Zapto's old ship, only it was red instead of Zapto's trademark yellow. The interior of the ship looked exactly the same however. "That's good to hear. The sooner we get there the better." Zapto replied as Moltro took a seat on a nearby chair. Right before they left, they decided that only the three of them, Zapto, Blackfire, and Moltro, would voyage to the ice planet. So the three of them sat in the main lobby room and chatted most of the time. At one point, Blackfire fell asleep, her head on Zapto's shoulder, and put her hand into Zapto's.

"He he, lucky man." Moltro laughed at Zapto. Zapto simply smiled back and soon he was asleep, his head on Blackfire's. "Well, I might as well take a nap too. I'll need the rest for our adventure coming up." Moltro said as he shrugged his shoulders and laid his head back against the wall.

Meanwhile…

"Nice ship you have here." The evil Zapto said unemotionally as he looked around the inside of the _Metal Super Sonica_. "Yes, it is. Now that it's fully repaired, I believe it's time we teach those punks a lesson for messing with me." Metal Sonica replied as he and the evil Zapto walked to the head of the bridge. The outside window showed a bright blue planet and another ship hovering nearby. "Is that our enemies' ship?" Evil Zapto asked in his dark, unemotional voice. "Yes, that's the ship that we're about to destroy." Metal Sonica replied. Evil Zapto was silent for a moment. "Is that where I come from?" He asked. Metal Sonica turned at looked at him inquisitively. "Do you care?" He countered. "You didn't answer the question. Where did I come from? Who am I?" The evil Zapto asked again.

"Fine then, yes you came from them. But they rejected you, so now you're here with me to destroy them." Metal Sonica answered. Evil Zapto was quiet for a moment again. "What is my name?" He asked. "It doesn't matter!" Metal Sonica snapped back. Evil Zapto looked at the ground in shame. "I don't have a name, do I? I don't even know where I'm from. One moment there was total darkness, and the next, I'm here." He said almost remorsefully, but still with a clear lacking of emotion. "That proves it. You were born of darkness, so in the darkness you belong." Metal Sonica replied impatiently.

"As for your name… I suppose it's only fair that I give you one." Metal Sonica thought for a moment and then gave an answer. "Otpaz, that's your name. It's fitting for you." Metal Sonica replied. "Otpaz…" He tried out his new name. "Yes, now enough chit-chat, it's time for battle!" Metal Sonica said impatiently and angrily. "Allow me to do the honors, master." Otpaz bowed. With a nod as Metal Sonica's approval, he gave the order. "All units, prepare to engage the enemy!" He commanded.

Back on Moltro's ship…

The flashing red alarm awoke Zapto and his companions from their sleep. "What's going on?!" Moltro asked in a panic as he woke up. He dashed out of his seat and into the cockpit. When he came back, he was in even more of a panic and overall looked rather pale. "There's an enemy ship on our radar and it's taking shots at us!" Moltro cried as Zapto and Blackfire jumped into fully aware poses. "I could've figured he'd come back for us." Blackfire said calmly considering the circumstances as she, Zapto, and Moltro headed back to the cockpit.

"What do you mean? Do you know that ship?" Moltro asked. "Of course, that's Metal Sonica's ship, there's no mistaking it." Blackfire said as she pointed to the ever growing ship on the screen. "Well it's pretty big, but that only means we can outrun it easily." Moltro said as he tapped a few buttons on the ship's computers. "Wait a minute, I have a better idea." Zapto said as he stepped forward. "We're going to attack that ship and bring it down once and for all. Then we'll be able to land safely on the planet there." Zapto continued as he pointed to the lower portion of the screen where a blue planet was getting increasingly larger as they got closer.

"Are you crazy?! There's no way we can beat that thing!" Moltro exclaimed at Zapto's mad scheme. "Actually, that might not be a bad idea. Metal Sonica has been after us since our quest began." Blackfire agreed. "Well you're a little biased then! In more ways than one!" Moltro added sarcastically and with a ting of jealousy. "Moltro I know you can do this, you're a pretty good pilot. Just give it a try." Zapto urged his brother. Moltro thought for a moment and then gave his answer. "Fine, but it's your lives that are at stake here more than mine." Moltro finally conceded as he grabbed the controls. "But hold on tight!" He added as he charged the enemy.

Back on the _Metal Super Sonica_…

"Excellent, we'll have them soon enough." Metal Sonica laughed to himself as his ship's blaster fire was launched all around their enemy's ship. "But master, why are they flying straight towards us when it's clear that our ship is much bigger than theirs?" Otpaz asked. "Because they like to think they're some great heroes. And heroes do those crazy kinds of things. But they will soon pay for their blind courageousness." Metal Sonica again laughed. Otpaz remained silent and simply watched as the space battle began in earnest.


	57. Chapter 56

Chapter 56- The Fall of the _Metal Super Sonica_

"Their aim is getting better." Moltro commented as he piloted his ship closer to the enemy, still dodging blaster fire as he flew. "But on the other hand, so is your flying, so keep at it." Blackfire encouraged. "Alright, the only way to really win here is to totally knock out their engines." Moltro stated. "Also, getting rid of some of their blasters might not be a bad idea either." He added as the ship rocked from the impact of a blaster shot.

For the first time, the heroes got a really good look at their pursuer's ship. It was long and spacious, but it had one very large tower like structure coming out of the top of the back area of the ship. There were blaster turrets all around the tower and a shield generator on the top, making it clear that that tower was the command deck.

"Aim for the command deck, there!" Zapto shouted to his brother as he pointed to the tower-like structure. "I see it of course! But there's no way of attacking it right now, there's a huge shield generator in the way!" Moltro shouted in a panic. "Hmm, you're right. I think the only option is to destroy the shield generator then." Blackfire suggested. Moltro looked at her in surprise and disgust. "Are you mad?! There's no way we can take that thing down. Only a perfectly direct shot in just the right place would destroy their shields!" Moltro exclaimed.

Suddenly, Zapto slapped his brother right across the face. "What did you do that for?!" Blackfire asked horrified. But Moltro simply looked up in gratitude. "No it's okay, really. Thanks brother, I needed that." He replied. "No problem." Zapto responded. "Are you okay though?" Blackfire offered. "I'm fine really. Sometimes I get so worked up, I need a good old slap in the face to get me focused again." Moltro replied and Blackfire looked as though she understood. "Now let's get back on track and take down those shields!" Moltro said excitedly as he gunned the engines full speed ahead towards the top of the command deck.

Meanwhile, on the enemy ship…

"Sir, it would appear they're trying to attack the command deck." A nameless officer said to the metallic captain of the ship. "It doesn't matter, they won't get far. Not with the shield generator protecting us." Metal Sonica laughed. But Otpaz simply stared at the viewing screen.

"I don't think they're aiming for the command deck." He said flatly. "What do you mean?! Why wouldn't they attack the command deck? Any great fool wouldn't!" Metal Sonica snapped as he turned and shot his apprentice a dirty look. But Otpaz simply kept staring at the screen. "No, they're trying to take out our shields." He replied. Metal Sonica turned back around and thought for a moment. "Well perhaps you're right. But they're no way they can take them out with their puny little ship. We'll have them destroyed soon enough." Metal Sonica smirked. "We'll just have to wait and see…" Otpaz whispered unemotionally to himself.

Back on the heroes' ship…

"Agh! We're taking heavy fire here!" Moltro exclaimed as blaster bolts blazed all around his ship as he made a mad charge for the shield generator on top of the command deck. "Hang in there, Moltro. Our shields are holding fine, so just focus on our offense." Blackfire advised him.

As the ship approached the area where the shield generator was, they could see more clearly just how the systems were set up. It was a giant orb, set atop the command deck tower, but the sphere was completely covered by its own almost transparent shield. However the sphere did have on unprotected spot: at the very top of it. However the spot was very small and only a very precise hit could impact the generator.

"Alright, team, get ready." Moltro shouted to his two comrades as his ship flew ever nearer to the shield generator. Defensive blaster bolts flew all around them, but Moltro paid no mind as he flew above the generator and shot two blaster bolts right at the exposed section on the generator. The shots scraped the section, but did no overall damage. "Agh, no good!" Moltro cursed as he flew on, past the generator. "It's ok, brother; it's a hard target to hit. Just fly back around and try again." Zapto consoled as Moltro flew on far enough to safely turn his ship around. "I'll say. It's almost impossible to hit on a side fly-by like that." Moltro said as he piloted the ship on a course back to the top of the generator.

"Hmm, you're right… wait I have an idea!" Zapto exclaimed in enlightenment. "Well let's hear it. We don't have much time to hit it before Metal Sonica catches on." Blackfire rushed. "Ok, if we fly up directly above the shield generator and then make a sharp descent, then we should be able to nail the weak spot from above and then pull up to resume our attack." Zapto explained. Moltro looked at him for a moment and then spoke. "That's pretty crazy, but it just might work. It's work a shot at least, haha." Moltro laughed confidently and then turned the ship sharply up and began his ascent.

"Hold on tight, team!" Moltro bellowed as the g-forces took over and pushed Zapto and Blackfire back in their seats. When the ship reached an appropriate altitude, it sharply turned and began descending, directly above the weak spot on the shield generator. "Hang in there, team!" Moltro shouted again as the ship rocketed down towards the generator. "Don't worry, brother, we'll hold out just as long as you." Zapto replied.

"Good. Well you won't have to wait much longer. Here goes nothing!" Moltro exclaimed as he pulled the trigger, releasing twin blaster shots, aimed directly at the infamous weak spot. The shots hit their mark and started a chain reaction inside the generator. "There we go!" Moltro exclaimed in glee as he whipped the ship up and flew away from the exploding shield generator.

On the bridge of the _Metal Super Sonica_…

"What do you mean our shield generator is destroyed?!" Metal Sonica roared in anger upon hearing the news from one of his officers. "I-I don't know, s-sir. But it seems they nailed the only weak point on the generator." The officer stammered. "I told you that's what they would do." Otpaz said. "Grr, I didn't actually think they could accomplish such a task." Metal Sonica growled.

"Sir, it appears they're flying around again. This time they're heading straight for our command deck." The nameless officer reported. "Fine then, I think we should head to a safer part of the ship." Metal Sonica advised to Otpaz as he began to walk away. "You mean, we're just going to run away?" Otpaz asked in confusion. "No, it's not running away. Running away would be fleeing with the ship. No I'm just protecting my own physical form. You're welcome to come if you wish." Metal Sonica remarked and then hovered into an elevator on the opposite side of the bridge. "I might as well." Otpaz said unemotionally and followed suit.

Back outside…

"Alright, next stop, command deck!" Moltro exclaimed as he flew his ship towards the essential brain of the enemy ship. "Alright, now be careful, the defenses are strongest in this part of the ship." Zapto advised as blaster shots continued to whiz by, with only the occasional actually scraping their ship. As they advanced they got a clearer image of their target and fired a few shots towards the tower. They hit their mark perfectly and soon the command tower was ablaze with damaged machine parts. "Good shooting, Moltro!" Blackfire encouraged. "Hmm, but that doesn't seem like enough to actually destroy the ship…" Moltro commented.

"Wait, I got it!" He then exclaimed as he flew past the burning tower and started to fly away from the ship. "What are you doing? Are you flying away?" Blackfire asked in confusion. "Nope, I actually know how we can bring this ship down. You see, I've been saving this little trick for just the right time, and I think that time has finally come." Moltro somewhat explained and he flew to the back of the ship and was facing the opposite direction as it.

"Fire the rear chargers!" Moltro commanded no one in particular as he pushed a button on the control panel. From a rear view screen the heroes could see three metal canisters falling away from their ship and heading straight towards the rear thrusters of the enemies'. Within minutes the canisters impacted the thrusters and created a massive explosion that ripped apart the whole back of the ship. Within a few more minutes, the chain reaction had spread and the _Metal Super Sonica_ exploded in a dazzling display of fire and light. "Haha, we did it!" Blackfire exclaimed loudly as she jumped up in her seat and hugged her two comrades. "Finally they're gone. But what bothers me is that I saw a small escape ship being ejected from the main ship right before it exploded." Zapto said worriedly. "Waha, brother you worry too much! We have faced the enemy, and they are ours. Now let's move on with this little adventure, shall we? To the ice planet!" Moltro exclaimed confidently as he piloted the ship directly towards the atmosphere of the nearby blue planet.

Somewhere in the nearby space…

"Grr, those fools think they've won the day, but I'll show them whose boss!" Metal Sonica growled angrily as he piloted his small escape vessel. "What are your plans, master?" Otpaz asked from the co-pilot seat of the ship. "It's simple really, all we do is follow them and attack when we have the chance. You haven't seen the last of me, heroes!" Metal Sonica laughed as he steered his ship also towards the surface of the planet.


End file.
